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-PRACTICAL 
GRAMMAR 

AND 

CQIVH^OSITION 





Class -PgULL 

Book, ys i s % 

Copyright^ . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



WHITE'S 

PRACTICAL GRAMMAR 

AND COMPOSITION 



A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION BY PRACTICAL LESSONS, 

SIMPLIFIED AND GRADED TO SUPPLY THE 

DEMANDS OF THE SCHOOL ROOM 

AND HOME. 



COMPILED AND REVISED BY 

BUCHANAN WHITE 

SUPEEIK-TENDENT ClTY SCHOOLS 

WESTON, W. YA. 



MORGANTOWN W. VA. 

The Acme Publishing Company 
1904 






LIBRARY of C0W3RESS 
Two Copies rJeceiy^d 

JAN 5 1905 

$0&yngai tatty 

>a^„ ///, J 9a / 

&USS £t XXc Noj 

COPY B. 




Copyright 1901 

By BUCHANAN WHITE 

Weston, W. Va. 



PREFACE 



o 



White's Practical Grammar and Composition is the result of 
many years of close observation and hard study by the author. 

Grammar is the science of the sentence. No other subject 
requires a more concise and general treatment. Grammar re- 
veals the processes by which thought is expressed, and when 
properly presented is calculated to lead pupils into a knowledge 
of their own powers of mind. Every word, phrase and clause 
in a sentence should be thoroughly understood, and this knowl- 
edge can be obtained only by frequent drills in analysis and 
parsing. 

In the study of the sentence, analysis should always be con- 
sidered a leading product, and for this reason the author has 
prepared a very plain, practical and common sense system of 
diagrams. 

The model diagrams are accompanied by frequent drills in 
analysis and parsing, which, together with supplemental ex- 
ercises in composition waiting, are sufficient to elucidate the 
correct application of the words used. 

Educators realize that a serious impediment to the study of 
grammar is the introduction into the schools of the country of 
books which do not present the subject in a plain, practical 
manner ; nor do they contain a complete, natural arrangement 
of the fundamental principles of the subject. To supply this 
urgent need this book has been prepared. v . 

Parents of limited education who realize their inability to 
assist their children in the preparation of grammar lessons, 
will find this work a "present help in time of need", at least to 
the extent of the questions and answers, which form a part of 
each lesson. It is, in fact, a self-instructor and insures an easy, 
interesting and thorough preparation of the lessons. 



PREFACE) 

The questions and answers serve as a guide to pupils, teach- 
ers and parents, thereby securing greater interest and more 
effective work at home and in the class room. This plan sug- 
gests itself for the reason that many teachers do not realize 
the importance of outlining lessons in advance and, as a result, 
pupils are not prepared to study the lesson until the recitation 
is over. 

Teachers should not require pupils to commit to memory all 
the answers herein given, but the substance of the answers 
should be given in the pupil's own words. 

The author sincerely hopes that this book will prove to be 
one of the greatest aids to the study of Grammar ever pre- 
sented to the public. 



CON TENTS 



i. 

ii. 

in. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 



VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 



XI. 



XII. 
XIII. 



XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 



XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 



Tart One 

Page. 

How Words are Used 9 

Why Words are Used 9 

Meaning and Use of -Words 10 

Exercises 11 

Parts of Speech Defined 12 

The Noun and Its Classes 14 

Number and Person 15 

Section 1. Number 15 

Section 2. Person 16 

Exercises Containing Nouns 17 

Individual Names 17 

Abbreviation of Proper Nouns 18 

Other Words Abbreviated 20 

Section 1. Days and Months 2 

Section 2. Other Words 20 

Section 3. Other Words 20 

The Pronoun 21 

Section 1. Pronoun Defined 21 

Section 2. Classes of Pronouns 22 

The Verb 2 3 

Classes of Verbs. . 2 4 

Section 1. Three Classes of Verbs 24 

Section 2. Use of Subject and Predicate. 2 5 

Section 3. Analysis Introduced 27 

Transitive Verbs 27 

Intransitive Verbs 29 

Exercises Containing Verbs 30 

Tense of Verbs 31 

Section 1. Meaning of Tense 31 

Section 2. Number and Person of Verbs. 31 

Exercises in Number and Person of Verbs 3 2 

Review of the Noun 3 3 

Review of the Verb 34 



Page. 

XLIX. Pronominal Adjectives 127 

Section 1. Classification 127 

Section 2. Observations 128 

L. Comparison of Adjectives 130 

Section 1. Kinds of Comparison 138 

Section 2. Adjectives Classified. 132 

The Adverb Resumed 133 

Order of Parsing Adverbs 135 

Order of Parsing Prepositions. 136 

Order of Parsing Conjunctions. 137 

Exercises for Practice 138 

Infinitives Explained 139 

Section 1. Uses of Infinitives 139 

Section 2. Diagrams and Explanations .. 143 

Section 3. Exercises in Infinitives 143 

Properties of Nouns Resumed 146 

Section 1. How Gender is Expressed. . . .146 

Section 2. Observations on Gender 149 

Number Observations 149 

Section 1. Formation of Plural Number. 149 

Section 2. Compound Words 151 

Section 3. Both Forms Made Plural 152 

Different Uses of Words 153 

Marks of Punctuation 157 

Section 1. Illustrations 157 

Section 2. The Comma 158 

Section 3. The Semi-Colon 160 

Section 4. The Colon 161 

Section 5. The Period 162 

Section 6. The Dash 163 

Section 7. The Hyphen 163 

Section 8. The Exclamation Point 163 

Section 9. Quotation Marks 164 

Section 10. The Apostrophe 164 

Section 11. Capital Letters 165 

LXI. Uses of Different Parts of Speech 167 

LXII. Different Uses of Pronouns 170 

LXIII. General Review of all the Parts of Speech 172 

LXIV. Sentences for Final Review 180 



LI. 

LII. 
LIII. 
LIV. 

LV. 
LVI. 



LVII. 



LVIII. 



LIX. 
LX. 



PART I. 

LESSON I. 

How and Why Words Are Used in Sentences. 
In the sentence, "James reads good books," of whom is 
something said? 

Ans. — Something is said of James. 

What is said about James ? 
Ans. — He reads. 

What does James read? 
Ans. — Books. 

What kind of books ? 
Ans. — Good books. 

Why is the word "James" used in the sentence? 
Ans. — To tell who reads. 

Why is the word "reads" used? 
Ans. — To tell what James does. 

Why is the word "books" used? 
Ans. — To tell zvhat he reads. 

Why is the word "good" used? 
Ans. — To tell the kind of books. 

LESSON II. 

In the sentence, "Mary recited her lesson well," of whom 
is something said or asserted? 

Ans. — Something is said of Mary. 

9 



IO WHITE S PRACTICAL 

What is said about Mary? 
Ans. — She recited. 

What did Mary recite? 
Ans. — A lesson. 

Whose lesson did she recite? 
Ans. — Her [Mary's] lesson. 

How did she recite it? 
Ans. — She recited it well. 

Why is the word "Mary" used in the sentence? 
Ans. — To tell who recited. 

Why is the word "recited" used? 
Ans.— To tell what Mary did. 

Why is the word "well" used? 
Ans. — To tell how she recited. 

Why is the word "her" used? 

Ans. — To tell whose lesson she recited. 



LESSON III. 

Name the first word in the sentence, "Harry found twelve 
glass marbles," and tell its use. 

Ans. — Harry is the first word. It is used to tell of whom 
we speak. 

Name the second word and tell its use. 

Ans. — Found is the second word. It is used to assert or 
say something about Harry. 

Name the next word and give its use. 

Ans. — The next word is "twelve," and it is used to tell how 
many marbles. 









GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. II 

What is the fourth word, and what is its use? 
Ans. — Glass is the fourth word. It is used to tell the kind 
of marbles. 

Name the last word in the sentence and tell why it is used. 
Ans. — Marbles is the last word, and it is used to tell what 
Harry found. 



i 

2 

3 
4 

5 
6, 

7 
8 

9 
io 



I saw five little birds in a nest. 

Men shear sheep for the wool that grows on their backs. 

The small boy has. a pair of skates. 

Fannie received a letter from her Uncle John. 

All boys and girls do not like to work. 

James broke his sled coasting down the hill. 

Farmers raise wheat and corn on their farms. 

The lark sings as it flies over the meadows. 

Baby sleeps in its cozy little carriage. 

The bird in the cage chirps and tries to get away. 



Note. — Teachers should select other sentences and continue 
as above indicated until pupils become familiar with exercises 
of this kind. By this method they soon become interested in 
the subject matter, and the study of Grammar is thus made 
more interesting as the work progresses. Be careful to draw 
out the pupil's knowledge of the meaning and use of words. 



LESSON IV. 

In the previous lessons we talked about the meaning and 
use of words in a sentence. We must now learn that all these 
words may be used in sentences, and may be separated into 
certain groups or classes. 

Xote. — Observe that some words tell of what or of whom 
we speak; some tell what we say about the person or object 
named ; some express action or tell about doing something ; 



12 WHITES PRACTICAL 

others tell how, why, when or where a thing is done. Because 
words have these various uses, they are divided into nine 
classes called "parts of speech. " 



Parts of Speech Defined. 
Section 1. 

Note. — These definitions need not be committed to memory 
at this time, since each is explained under its proper classifica- 
tion. 

A Noun is the name of a person or of any thing of which 
we may think or speak ; as, William, house, knowledge. 

A Verb is a word or words used to express action, state of 
being or condition ; as, run, stand, write, build, shall go. 

A Pronoun is a word used instead of the noun for which it 
stands ; as, he, they, mine, yourself. 

An Adjective is a word which limits or describes a noun or 
a pronoun ; as, good, sweet, five, white, useful. 

An ADVERB is a word which modifies a verb, another adverb, 
a participle, or an adjective; as, rapidly, very, independently. 

A Participle is a form of the verb which partakes of the 
use of a verb and of an adjective, or of a verb and a noun; 
as, seeing, loved, writing, having loved. 

A Preposition is a word which shows the relation between 
a noun or pronoun, called its object, and some other word; as y 
for, of, on, from, intc 

A Conjunction is a word which connects independent 
words, phrases and clauses ; as, and, or, nor, but, unless. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 3 

An Interjection is a word used to express surprise, fear, 
indignation, or other emotion ; as, O, oh, alas, indeed. 



Section 2. 

What is a sentence ? 

Ans. — A sentence is a group of words so arranged as to 
express a complete thought. 

With what kind of a letter should every sentence begin ? 
Ans. — Every sentence should begin with a capital letter. 

In the sentence, "Mary sings/' which word is the name of 
a person? 

Ans. — The word Mary. 

Commit to memory: All names of persons or of objects 
are called nouns. 

What part of speech, then, is the w r ord Mary in the sen- 
tence given above ? 

Ans. — The word Mary is a noun. 

Why is the word Mary a noun? 

Ans. — Because it is the name of a person. 

Mention some other names of persons. 
Ans. — Edward, Lucy, Uncle James. 

Give the names of some objects in the school room. 
Ans. — Book, slate, desk, stove. 

To what part of speech do all these names belong? 
Ans. — They belong to that part of speech called the noun. 

Why are all these names called nouns? 

Ans. — Because they are names of persons or of objects. 



14 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

What is a noun? 

Ans. — A noun is the name of a person or of any thing of 
which we may think or speak. 

Name the nouns in the following sentences and tell which 
are names of persons, and which are names of objects. Be 
careful to distinguish between the name of an object and the 
object itself: 

i. Harry made a swing for his sisters, Lucy and Kate. 

2. Elsie was sick and Mary sent her some flowers. 

3. God made the stars to shine by night. 

4. Willis Morton went to school with Mr. Jarvis, his 
teacher. 

5. Bruno was a good dog and lived with his master in 
Wheeling. 

6. Men, women and children went to see the animals at 
the circus. 

7. The carpenters built a house for the coal miners to 
occupy. 

8. Farmers fell the trees and plow the ground before they 
plant corn. 

LESSON V. 

The Noun and Its Classes. 

Into how many and what classes are nouns divided? 
Ans. — Nouns are divided into two great classes : Common 
and Proper. 

What does the word "common" mean? 

Ans. — Common mean general, not any certain one. 

What is a common noun? 

Ans. — A common noun is a general name. It is the name 
of a class and may be applied to any object of that class; as 
city, man, country. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 5 

What does the word "proper' mean? 

Ans. — It means particular, certain, special ; some special or 
particular person, place or thing. 

What is a proper noun? 

Ans. — A proper noun is the name of some special or par- 
ticular person, place or people. A proper noun is the name 
of a certain one of a class, and can be applied to that one only. 

Name some proper nouns. 

Ans. — Henry, Mary, Ohio, Pittsburg, West Virginia. 

How should proper nouns always begin? 

Ans. — Proper nouns should always begin with capital letters. 

How should common nouns begin? 

Ans. — Common nouns should begin with small letters un- 
less they are words of special importance, or are used at the 
beginning of a sentence. 

Note. — Ask pupils to give the name of some class, as city; 
then require them to give the names of some particular cities, 
as Chicago, Pittsburg. Explain that city is a common noun, 
while the name of a particular city is a proper noun. A few 
exercises of this kind will make clear the difference between a 
common noun and a proper noun. 

LESSON VI. 
Section 1. 

What is number? 

Ans. — Number is that form of nouns and pronouns which 
shows whether one or more than one is mentioned ; as, boy, 
boys ; sled, sleds. 

How many numbers have nouns and pronouns? 
Ans. — There are two numbers : Singular and Plural. 



16 white's practical 

What is the use of singular number ? 

Ans. — Singular number is used when only one person or 
object is mentioned; as, pen, slate, book, town, road, Rella, 
Harry. 

What is the use of plural number ? 

Ans. — Plural number is used to refer to more than one per- 
son or object; as pens, slates, books, towns, roads, men. 

Write three sentences containing nouns in singular number. 

Write three sentences containing nouns in plural number. 

Section 2. 

What is person as applied to nouns and pronouns ? 
Ans. — Person is that form of nouns and pronouns which 
shows whether the person speaks, is spoken to, or is spoken of. 

How many and what persons are used in grammar? 
Ans. — There are three persons : First, Second and Third. 

To what does the first person apply ? 

Ans. — The first person applies to the name of the speaker: 
as I, Joe Johnson, shall not be there. 

To what does the second person apply? 

Ans. — The second person applies to the name of the person 
or object spoken to : as, You, William, should return. 

To what does the third person apply ? 

Ans. — The third person applies to the name of the person 
or thing spoken of : as, He, Henry Crites, recites well. 

Write three sentences containing nouns or pronouns in 
first person. 

Write three sentences containing nouns or pronouns in 
second person. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. \*J 

Write three sentences containing nouns or pronouns in 
third person. 

LESSON VII. 

Point out the nouns in the following sentences, and tell 
which are common and which are proper nouns ; also tell the 
number and person of each noun. 



i 
2 

3 
4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
io, 



The sailor crossed the ocean. 

Mr. Wharton is not in town. 

Jessie Arland is a good girl. 

The horses are in the field. 

Uncle John has a cane in his hand. 

Solomon was a wise man. 

Fred lost his money on the street. 

Mr. Jones, the carpenter, is a good mechanic. 

There are prosperous farmers in the state of Ohio. 

Charleston is the capital of the state of West Virginia. 



Note. — The Teacher should explain that such words as 
"Mr. Wharton," "Jessie Arland," "Uncle John" and "West 
Virginia" are single names. 



LESSON VIII. 

Names of Individuals. 

Of how many parts is the name of a person composed? 
Ans. — Every name of a person is composed of two parts. 

What are these parts called? 

Ans. — One is called the given name, or christian name ; and 
the other is called the surname, or family name. 

Note. — Given names are also called baptismal names. 



1 8 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

What is meant by the given, or christian name ? 
Ans. — The given name is that part of the name which is 
given by the parents ; as, Sarah, Joseph, Philip, James. 

What is meant by the surname ? 

Ans. — The surname is that part of the name which applies 
to each or all members of the family; as, Lee Johnson, John 
Nuzum. 

How many words does the given name of a person contain ? 
Ans. — The given name may contain only one word, or it 
may contain two or more words. 

Why do parents give their children these given or christian 
names ? 

Ans. — They are given in order to distinguish each member 
of the family from all the others. 

How many words does the surname contain? 
Ans.— The surname contains only one word. 

In the sentence, "William Henry Harrison was elected 
President of the United States," which words compose the 
given name? 

Ans. — William and Henry. 

Which word is the surname? 
Ans. — Harrison is the surname. 

Mention several names of persons and separate them into 
given names and surnames. 

LESSON IX. 

Abbreviations. 

Is it always necessary to write the entire given name of a 
person ? 

Ans. — It is not. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 19 

How may the name be shortened? 

Ans. — By using the first letter of every part of the given 
name and placing a period after each letter. 

How may the name "William Henry Harrison" be 
shortened ? 

Ans. — W. Henry Harrison, William H. Harrison, or W. H. 
Harrison. 

What are the letters thus used called? 

Ans. — They are called initial letters, or initials of the per- 
son's name. 

What does "initial" mean? 
Ans. — It means first. 

What is this process of shortening names called ? 

Ans. — It is called abbreviation, which means shortening. 

Abbreviate the following names : 
Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
Mary Elizabeth Watson. 
John Edward Kenna. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
James Abram Garfield. 

Note. — Some names are abbreviated by using more than 
one letter; as, Geo. for George; Jas. for James; Jos. for 
Joseph ; Jno. for John ; Robt. for Robert ; Thos. for Thomas. 
While these forms are recognized abbreviations, yet whenever 
the last letter of a name is used as part of the abbreviation, 
as Jas., Robt., Supt., it is more in accordance with grammatical 
science to use the apostrophe before the last letter, as Ja's, 
Rob't and Sup't, and use no period after it. 



20 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



LESSON X. 



Section 1. 



Learn the following abbreviations : 



Sun. Sunday, 
Tues. Tuesday, 
Thurs. Thursday, 
Sat. Saturday. 
Feb. February, 
Apr. April, 
Sept. September, 



Mon. Monday, 
Wed. Wednesday, 
Fri. Friday, 
Jan. January, 
Mar. March, 
Aug. August, 
Oct. October, 

Nov. November, 

Dec. December. 



Section 2. 



Dr. doctor, debtor, 

Mr. mister, 

Cr. credit, creditor, 

Mrs. mistress (missis), 

Gen. general, 

Atty. attorney, 

Prof, professor. 

Gov. governor, 

S.upt. superintendent, 



Co. company, county, 
Lieut, lieutenant, 
St. street, saint, 
Maj. major, 
Col. colonel, 
Pres. president, 
Esq. esquire, 
Rev. reverend, 
Capt. captain, 



Hon. honorable. 



Section 3. 



a. m. forenoon, 

reed, received, 

pp. pages, 

yd. yard, 

p. m. afternoon, or P. 

bu. bushel, 



M. 



mt. mountain, 

p. page, 

pt. pint, 

qt. quart, 

p. m. post master, 

hhd. hogshead, 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION 21 

vs. against, e. g. for example, 

i. e. that is, doz. dozen, 

ft. foot, feet, viz. namely, 

lb. pound, M. D. doctor of medicine, 

1. line ; 11. lines, A.D.in the year of our Lord. 

LESSON XI. 

The Pronoun. 

Section 1. 

What is a pronoun? 

Ans. — A pronoun is a word used in place of the noun for 
which it stands ; as, Julius lost his ball. 

What is the noun for which a pronoun stands called ? 
Ans. — It is called the antecedent of the pronoun. 

What does "antecedent" mean? 

Ans. — It means preceding or going before. 

What does the word "pronoun" mean? 

Ans. — Pronoun means for or in place of a noun. 

In the sentence, "Irene studied her lesson," which word is 
a pronoun ? 

Ans. — The word her is a pronoun. 

In place of what noun is "her" used? 

Ans. — Her is used instead of the noun Irene. 

How would the sentence read if the pronoun "her" were not 
used? 

Ans. — Irene studied Irene's lesson. 

In the sentence, "Lucy gave her book to Fannie," which 
word is a pronoun? 

Ans. — Her is a pronoun. 



22 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

In stead of what noun is "her" used? 
Ans. — In stead of the noun Lucy, 

Name some pronouns. 

Ans. — I, you, he, her, it, his, they, their, them, who, him- 
self. 

Note. — Because pronouns stand for nouns, they also have 
number and person ; as, He gave me an apple. They gave 
us apples. 

Section 2. 

There are three classes of pronouns : Personal, Relative and 
Interrogative. 

What is a personal pronoun? 

Ans. — A personal pronoun is one whose form shows whether 
it refers to the speaker, to the person addressed, or to the per- 
son or object spoken of. 

Note. — These pronouns are called personal because they 
are used in place of the names of persons or individual things. 

In the sentence, "Samuel lost his money," which word is a 
pronoun ? 

Ans. — His is a pronoun. 

What kind of pronoun is "his?" 

Ans. — His is a personal pronoun, because its form shows 
that it is used instead of the name of the person spoken of. 

In place of what noun is "his" used? 

Ans. — It is used in place of the noun Samuel. 

What, then, is the name "Samuel" called? 

Ans. — It is called the antecedent of the pronoun his. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 23 

In the sentence, "This is my book," which word is a pro- 
noun ? 

Ans. — My is a pronoun. 

In place of what noun is it used? 

Ans. — My is used in place of the name (understood) of the 
speaker. 

What kind of pronoun is "my?" 

Ans. — It is a personal pronoun, and its antecedent is the 
name (understood) of the person speaking. 

Name the personal pronouns. 

Ans. — I, thou, you, she, he and it, with their other forms. 
Me, my, we and us are examples of other forms of the pro- 
noun /. 

Write three sentences containing personal pronouns, and 
name the antecedent of each. 



LESSON XII. 

The Verb. 

What is a verb ? 

Ans. — A verb is a word, or words, used to express action, 
state of being or condition; as, Frank walks. The house 
stands. Baby sleeps. 

Name some verbs. 

Ans. — Sing, read, talk, write, run, live, am, was. 

In the sentence, "Birds chirp," which word is a verb? 
Ans. — Chirp is a verb. 

Point out the nouns, personal pronouns and verbs in the 



24 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

following sentences, and tell the person and number of each 
noun and pronoun. 



I 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
io 
n 

12 



Horses draw loads. 

Pupils recite lessons. 

The farmer plows the ground. 

Helen reads and writes. 

Bees are insects. 

The ground is cold. 

He went home yesterday. 

Uncle Joseph will come again. 

Carpenters build houses. 

My book is on your desk. 

His slate is broken. 

They went away early in the morning. 



LESSON XIII. 

Classes of the Verb. 



Section 1. 

According to their use, verbs are divided into three classes : 
Copulative, Transitive and Intransitive. 

Note. — This section and the next should be studied together. 

What is a copulative verb? 

Ans. — A copulative verb is one which merely asserts the pre- 
dicate and joins it to the subject. (See next lesson for defini- 
tion of subject and predicate.) 

What does the word "copula" mean? 

Ans. — It means a link — linking or joining together. 

Why are copulative verbs so called? 

Ans. — Because they link or join the predicate to the sub- 
ject. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 25 

Give an example of a copulative verb. 

Ans. — Wagons are vehicles. Are is a copulative verb. 

Why is "are" a copulative verb? 

Ans. — Because it asserts the predicate vehicles, and joins 
it to the subject wagons. 

Section 2. 

Analysis: Use of Subject and Predicate. 

Every sentence has two leading parts. One is called the 
subject, and the other is called the predicate. The subject is 
always the name of the person or object about which something 
is asserted. The predicate is that which is said of or about 
the subject. 

In the sentence, "Barley is a vegetable," what is the subject? 
Ans. — Barley is the subject. 

Why is "barley" the subject? 

Ans. — Because it is the name about which something is said. 

Which word is the predicate ? 
Ans. — Vegetable is the predicate. 

Why is "vegetable" the predicate? 

Ans. — Because it is that which is said about the subject. 

What is the word "is" called? 
Ans. — Is is called the copula. 

Xote. — A very frequent use of the copula is to assert some 
quality ; as, Apples are sour. Candy is sweet. 

What is the subject of the sentence, "Apples are sour?" 
Ans. — Apples is the subject. 

What is the predicate? 
Ans. — Sour is the predicate. 



26 white's practical 

What is the use of the word "are" in the sentence? 
Ans. — Are is the copula and joins the predicate sour to the 
subject apples. 

NoTD. — Learn the following definitions : 

The subject is that part of a sentence about which something 
is said or asserted. 

The predicate is that part of a sentence which is said about 
the subject. 

The copula is a word or words used to assert the predicate, 
and join it to the subject. 

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j<*r of Thm£t <*Gtnn<*n-tr. /j-Uo YAe Tight ctn<< teft fcoxLv*,* of fA<'s 
fig ur* f**-<*y *ne-t+eQ warots ir% CLjbbo*cCLon(( /J. 

CLtt/tcJttO'*^ CLrxcL cteU/9r6iciC rnacLi^iers •sh&<us.LoL 6c /btcLG&aL on, 



Diagram the following sentences according to the models 
given below : 

Roses bloom. The grass grows. The rain fails.^ Snow 
melts. Candy is sweet. He is old. Mary is sick. Sheep are 
animals. Roads are highways. Jane reads books. John sold 
his farm. The hunters killed a deer. John Milton wrote 
Paradise Lost. 

con* q » ^a ^wty 




GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 2/ 

Section 3. 

Analysis Continued. 

What is meant by analysis? 

Analysis means naming the several parts of a sentence and 
pointing out the nature of their relation or connection with 
one another. 

Name the subject, predicate and copula in each of the fol- 
lowing sentences. Also tell the person and number of the 
nouns and pronouns. 

i. Jonas is a large man. 

2. Copper is a metal. 

3. The moon is a planet. 

4. Teaching is a profession. 

5. Farmers are laborers. 

6. Snow is white. 

7. The fields look green. 

8. Boys will be boys. 

9. Pupils should be studious. 

10. Elihu could have been a rich man. 

11. Harry and Kate are sick. 

12. The lily is a pretty flower. 

13. Oliver could be a useful boy. 

14. Some pupils are not industrious. 

15. Uncle Ned is old but Aunt Lucy is quite young. 

LESSON XIV. 

Transitive Verbs. 

What is a transitive verb? 

Ans. — A transitive verb is one that does not express a com- 
plete thought within itself ; as, Pupils study. Here study does 



28 white's practical 

not express a complete thought, but some word, as physiology 
must be supplied. 

Note. — The word "transitive" means passing, and a transi- 
tive verb is so called because the action expressed by the verb 
passes from the subject to something else called the object. 
Thus, in the sentence, "Fannie struck Willie," the action ex- 
pressed by the verb struck, passes from the subject, Fannie, 
to the object, Willie. 

How may you determine when a verb is transitive? 
Ans. — The verb is transitive whenever it requires another 
word or words to complete its meaning. 

In the sentence, "John has a pencil," what kind of verb is 
"has?" 

Ans. — It is a transitive verb. 

Why is "has" a transitive verb? 

Ans. — Because it does not express a complete thought within 
itself. 

What word completes the meaning of "has?" 
Ans. — The word pencil completes its meaning. 

How may you generally tell what word completes the mean- 
ing of a transitive verb ? 

Ans. — By asking a question using who or what with the 
verb, or with the subject and verb. Ex. — John ate an apple. 
Ate what ? 

Ans. — An apple. 

What is the word that completes the meaning of a transitive 
verb called in analysis? 

Ans. — It is called the object, or an objective clement. 

Name the nouns, pronouns, transitive verbs, subjects, predi- 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 



29 



cates and objects in each of the following sentences; also tell 
the number and person of all nouns and pronouns : 
1. Harry lost his knife. 

The oil men drilled five wells. 

3. I studied my lesson. 

4. William caught the ball. 

5. The hunter shot a deer. 

6. Bees gather honey. 
Jacob sold a team of horses. 
God made the world. 
Farmers plant corn and sow wheat. 
Laborers receive pay for their work. 
I saw a wild horse on the prairie. 
The flood destroyed the growing crops. 
They moved the house across the street. 
The train killed several buffaloes. 



9 
10 
11 
12 

13 
14 



Note. — Teachers should select other sentences than those 
given in the text. Help pupils to distinguish transitive verbs 
at sight. 

LESSON XV. 

Intransitive Verbs. 

What is an intransitive verb ? 

Ans. — An intransitive verb is one that expresses a complete 
thought within itself ; as. The snow falls. 

Does an intransitive verb ever require an additional word to 
complete its meaning ? 
Ans. — It does not. 

In the sentence, ''Stars shine/' what kind of verb is "shine?" 
Ans. — Shine is an intransitive verb. 

State why ''shine'' is an intransitive verb. 

Ans. — Because it expresses a complete thought within itself. 



30 WHITE) S PRACTlCAt 

That is, it does not require an additional word to complete its 
meaning. 

Note: i. — The word intransitive means not passing. It 
means remaining, standing still. Intransitive verbs are so 
called because the action signified by the verb does not pass 
to or act upon any object. In the sentence, "Stars shine," 
the action signified by the verb shine does not pass to or act 
upon anything else, but remains with the subject stars. 

Note) 2. — Some verbs may be used in a transitive and also 
in an intransitive sense. Ex. — The wind blows. In this sen- 
tence blows is intransitive, because the action does not pass 
to or act upon any object. But in the sentence, "The wind 
blows the chaff away," blows is transitive because the action 
signified by the verb blows passes to and acts upon the object 
chaff. 

LESSON XVI. 



In the following sentences, point out the verbs and tell which 
are copulative, which are transitive, and which are intransitive 
verbs ; also tell which nouns are common and which are 
proper, and give the number and person of each noun and 
pronoun : 

1. The wind whistled. 

2 The barrel leaks. 

3. Ancient trees still stand. 



9 
10. 



The heavens are bright with stars. 

James recited two lessons. 

Two horses ran away from their driver. 

The earth revolves on its axis. 

Vessels sail on the ocean. 

The balloon ascends toward the sky. 

The engineer jumped from his engine. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 31 

LESSON XVII. 

Tense: of Verbs. 
Section 1. 

What is the meaning of the word "tense?" 
Ans. — Tense means time. 

Note. — Tense of verbs means the time of action expressed 
by the verb, and it shows the time meant by the speaker or 
writer. 

In the sentence, "I write," in what tense is "write?" 
Ans. — Write is in present tense because it refers to present 
time. 

In the sentence, "I wrote," in what tense is "wrote," and 
why? 

Ans. — Wrote is in past tense because it refers to past time. 

In the sentence, "I shall write," in what tense is "shall 
write?" 

Ans. — It is in future tense because it refers to time yet to 
come. 

Note to Teacher. — Call special attention to the three tenses 
named. Select a number of verbs and require pupils to give 
the present, past and future tenses of each : Walk, ride, read, 
plow, reap, laugh, plant, build. 

Section 2. 

Person and Number as Applied to Verbs. 

A verb should agree with its subject in number and person. 

What is meant by a verb agreeing with its subject in "num- 
ber?" 

Ans. — It means that when a noun or pronoun in singular 



32 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

number is used as its subject, the singular form of the verb 
should be used. And when a noun or pronoun in plural num- 
ber is used as its subject, the plural form of the verb should 
be used. 

In the sentence, "The horse runs/' is "runs" a singular or 
plural verb? 

Ans. — Runs is a singular verb because its subject horse is 
in singular number. 

In the sentence, "Horses run," is "run" a singular or a 
plural verb? 

Ans. — Run is a plural verb because its subject horses is in 
plural number. 

LESSON XVIII. 

What is meant by a verb agreeing with its subject in person? 

Ans.— When the subject of a verb is in first, second, or third 
person, the verb itself must be in the same person to agree with 
that subject. 

Give an example. 

Ans. — Henry gave me his book. Here the subject of the 
verb gave is Henry, and since the noun Henry is in third per- 
son, the verb must also be in third person. 

i. In the following sentences, point out the nouns and give 
the number and person of each. 2. Tell the kind of verbs and 
give the number and person of each. 3. Change singular 
nouns to plural, and plural nouns to singular number, and 
make corresponding changes in the verbs. 4. Give the tense 
of each verb. 5. Point out the personal pronouns and give 
the number and person of each. 

Note. — Do not hasten over this part of the work. Take 
short lessons and learn them well. 




I 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6, 

7 
8 

9 
io 
ii 

12 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 33 

The rose blooms. 

Roses bloom. 

The boy falls down. 

Boys fall down. 

We wrote letters at school. 

I will write you a letter. 

Lambs play on the hillside. 

The little bird hopped along the ground. 

A good pupil will study his lesson. 

Men saw lumber and build houses. 

Many buildings were destroyed by fire. 

Four bridges were washed away by the flood. 



2 

3 
4 

5 
6, 

7 

8 

9 
10 



Fill the following blanks with is, was, are or were : 
1. The teacher at school. 

Many pupils at school. 

Where the capital located ? 

Lucy and Mary studying Algebra. 

How many of them yours ? 



I invited to the wedding. 

you invited. 



Where the girls now ? 

Where they yesterday? 

How many men working today? 



LESSON XIX. 

Review of the Noun. 

What is a noun? 
How many classes of nouns? 
Define each class and give examples. 
How should proper nouns begin? 
How should common nouns begin ? 



U 



34 WHITES PRACTICAL 

What is number ? How many numbers have nouns and pro- 
nouns ? 

How many persons have nouns and pronouns ? Define each. 

Write three sentences containing common nouns. 

Write three sentences containing proper nouns. 

Name the subjects and predicates of the sentences you have 
written. 

Name the person and number of all nouns, pronouns and 
verbs used. 

LESSON XX. 

Review of the Verb. 

What is a verb ? 
Name the classes of verbs. 
What does the word "copula" mean? 
What is a transitive verb ? 
What is an intransitive verb ? 
What is a copulative verb? 
Why are words used in sentences? 

How may you generally tell whether a verb is transitive or 
intransitive ? 

Write three sentences containing copulative verbs. Give 
the number and person of each. 

Write three sentences containing transitive verbs. Give the 
number and person of each. 

Write three sentences containing intransitive verbs. Give 
the number and person of each. 

Name the tense of all the verbs you have used. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 35 

LESSON XXI. 

Sentences and Propositions. 

What is a sentence? How should every sentence begin? 

What is a proposition ? 

Ans. — A proposition is an expressed thought. 

How many kinds of propositions are used in grammar? 
Ans. — There are two kinds of propositions : Complete and 
Incomplete. 

What is a complete proposition? 

Ans. — A complete proposition is one that expresses a com- 
plete thought when used alone. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Grass grows. Birds fly. 

What is an incomplete proposition? 

Ans. — An incomplete proposition is one that does not ex- 
press a complete thought when used alone. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Grass grows when spring comes. 

Birds fly when the weather is warm. 

What is the difference between a sentence and a proposition ? 

Ans. — All complete propositions are sentences, but incom- 
plete propositions are not, because they do not express com- 
plete thoughts when used alone. 

What other names are sometimes applied to propositions ? 
Ans. — They are sometimes called dependent and independent 
propositions ; also principal and subordinate propositions. 

In the sentence, "Improve the time while you are young," 
what is the complete proposition ? 
Ans. — Improve the time. 



36 white's practical 

What is the incomplete proposition? 
Ans. — While you are young. 

Name the complete and incomplete propositions in the fol- 
lowing sentences : 

1. The minister said that he would return soon. 

2. I hope that you succeeded in your undertaking. 

3. Horses are animals that are useful to man. 

4. The desk, which you purchased, is dear at the price paid. 

5. The carpenter who built the church, is also a minister. 



LESSON XXII. 

Kinds of Sentences. 

Section 1. 

# 

There are sentences which declare or deny something ; there 
are others which ask questions, or which exclaim or command 
something. On account of such variety of expressing thought, 
sentences are divided into four classes : Declarative, Inter- 
rogative, Imperative and Exclamatory. 

What is a declarative sentence ? 

Ans. — A declarative sentence is one which asserts or denies 
something. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — The windows were broken. 
The car was not crowded. 

What is an interrogative sentence? 

Ans. — An interrogative sentence is one that asks a question. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Where do you live ? 

What was the decision of the judges? 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. ^J 

What is an imperative sentence? 

Ans. — An imperative sentence is one that expresses a com- 
mand or makes an entreaty. It is also sometimes used in ex- 
hortation. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Speak gently to all. 

Let us sing another song. 

How may an imperative sentence usually be known? 
Ans. — By the omission of the subject of the sentence. 

What is generally used as the subject of an imperative sen- 
tence ? 

Ans. — The word thou or the word you is often used as the 
subject of an imperative sentence. 

Give illustrations. 

Ans. — In the sentence, "Bring me your book/' the word you 
(understood) is the subject of the verb bring. 

What is an exclamatory sentence? 

Ans. — An exclamatory sentence is one that expresses fear, 
surprise, anger, indignation, or other strong feeling. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — O, I am so frightened ! 
You don't say so ! 

Section 2. 

What are punctuation marks? 

Ans. — They are marks or points so placed as to separate 
sentences or parts of sentences according to the closeness of 
relation of these parts to each other. 

Name the marks or points most used. 

Ans. — The comma (,) ; semicolon ( ;) ; colon ( :) ; period 



38 white's practical 

(.) ; interrogation point ( ?) ; exclamation point ( !) ; quotation 
marks (""). 

What mark should be placed at the end of declarative and 
imperative sentences? 

Ans. — A period should be placed at the end of each. 

What point should be placed at the end of an interrogative 
sentence ? 

Ans. — The question mark, or interrogation point. 

What mark should be placed at the end of an exclamatory 
sentence ? 

Ans. — The exclamation point. 

Write three declarative sentences. 

Write three interrogative sentences. 

Write three imperative sentences. 

Write three exclamatory sentences. 

Point out the nouns, personal pronouns and verbs in the 
sentences you have written, and tell whether the nouns are 
common or proper; whether the verbs are copulative, transi- 
tive or intransitive. Tell the number and person of the nouns, 
pronouns and verbs used. 

LESSON XXIII. 

Sentences According to Form. 

Some sentences express single thoughts ; some express two 
or more thoughts in the same connection; others express one 
complete and one or more incomplete thoughts joined together. 
On account of these different forms of expressing thought, 
sentences are divided into three classes : Simple, Complex, and 
Compound. (See Lesson XXI.) 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 39 

What is a simple sentence? 

Ans. — A simple sentence is the expression of a single 
thought. 

Give examples of simple sentences. 
Ans. — God created the heavens. 
The river flows onward. 

What is a complex sentence ? 

Ans. — A complex sentence is the expression of one complete, 
and one or more incomplete propositions. 

Give examples of complex sentences. 
Ans. — I hope that you are well. 

We found the book which was lost. 

Note. — The italicized words in the above sentences form' 
the incomplete or subordinate propositions. The other words, 
form the complete or principal propositions. 

What is a compound sentence? 

Ans. — A compound sentence is a sentence composed of two 
or more independent propositions connected by coordinate con- 
junctions. 

Note. — A compound sentence may contain one or more 
simple sentences joined to one or more subordinate proposi- 
tions ; or it may be composed of two or more simple sentences, 
or two or more complex sentences. 

Note. — The simple or complex sentences composing a com- 
pound sentence, are called members of the compound sentence. 

Write three simple sentences. 

Write three complex sentences. 

Write three compound sentences. 



40 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

i. Name the nouns you have used and tell whether they 
are common or proper. 

2. In what number and person is each noun? 

3. Name the verbs and tell whether they are copulative, 
transitive or intransitive. 

4. In what number and person is each verb used ? 

5. Name the subjects and predicates of the sentences. 

6. Tell which part of each complex sentence forms the 
complete, and which part forms the incomplete proposition. 

7. Name the members of each compound sentence you 
have written. 

LESSON XXIV. 

Analysis and Parsing. 

What two leading parts has every sentence? 

Ans. — Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. 

What is the subject of a sentence? 

Ans. — The subject is that part of the sentence about which 
something is said. 

What is the predicate of a sentence? 

Ans. — The predicate is that part of the sentence which is 
said about the subject. (See Lesson XIII, Sec. 2.) 

What are the other parts of a sentence called ? 
Ans. — They are called modifiers. A copulative verb is 
called the copula. . Modifiers are also called elements. 

What is analysis ? 

Ans. — Analysis is the separation of a sent- nice into its ele- 
ments, and designating the position and use of each element. 

Analyze or diagram the following sentences ; and tell 
whether the nouns are common or proper; whether they are 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 41 

used in singular or plural number; whether they are in first, 
second or third person. 

Tell whether the verbs are copulative, transitive or intransi- 
tive ; whether they are in singular or plural number; whether 
they are in first, second or third person ; whether the verbs 
are in present, past or future tense : 

1. Iron is a metal. 

2. The oranges are ripe. , 

3. Roses are beautiful. 

4. Mary studies geography. 

5. Julius catches fish. 

6. Patrick Henry was an orator. 

7. People inhabit the earth. 

8. The French invasion produced a complete change. 

9. The present which you sent me is a fine one. 
10. The sky is clear and the day is warm. 

LESSON XXV. 

The Adjective. 

What is an adjective? 

Ans. — An adjective is a word which limits or describes a 
noun or pronoun; as a. book; szveet apples; He is sick. 

How many and what are the classes or kinds of adjectives? 
Ans. — There are two great classes of adjectives: Descrip- 
tive and Definitive. 

What is a descriptive adjective? 

Ans. — A descriptive adjective is one which denotes a quality 
or condition of the noun which it modifies. 

Name some descriptive adjectives. 
Ans. — Good, red, cold, bright, useful. 



42 WHITES PRACTICAL 

Place each adjective named above, before a noun. Ex. — 
A good book. 

In the sentence, "John lives in a large, beautiful house," 
which words are descriptive adjectives? 
Ans. — Large and beautiful. 

Why are "large" and "beautiful" descriptive adjectives? 
Ans. — Because they denote a quality or condition of house. 

What are adjectives called in analysis? 

Ans. — They are called adjective elements, or adjective modi- 
fiers. 

Analyze or diagram the following sentences, and tell the 
kind of sentence; the kind of nouns; the kind of verbs; also 
point out the descriptive adjectives and tell what each modifies : 

i. Silver is a valuable metal. 

2. Sarah has a kind, good mother. 

3. I saw a yellow rose and a white pink. 

4. A bright, shining light was seen. 

5. A good book is a desirable companion. 

6. They gave us a red, white and blue flag. 
A beautiful swan was seen on the broad lake. 
An honest man is a useful person. 

The Spanish vessels were easily captured by the Ameri- 
can fleet. 

LESSON XXVI. 

Definitive Adjectives. 

Section 1. 

What is a definitive adjective? 

Ans. — A definitive adjective is one which limits or points out 
a noun without denoting quality. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 43 

Name some definitive adjectives. 

Ans. — The, that, a, three, same, all, no, many. 

In the sentence, "Two books are on that desk," which words 
are definitive adjectives? 
Ans. — Two and that. 

Why are they definitive adjectives? 

Ans. — Because they limit nouns without denoting quality. 

What does the word "two" limit in the above sentence? 
Ans. — Tzvo limits the noun books by telling the number of 
books. 

What does the word "that" limit? 

Ans. — That limits the noun desk by pointing out which desk 
is referred to by the speaker. 

In a similar manner point out the definitive adjectives in the 
following sentences, and tell what noun each limits : 
i. A cup is on the stove. 

2. These books are not very useful. 

3. All of the hats are made of the same material. 

4. Every man should own a house. 

5. Each pupil recited five stanzas. 
Many people came to this town. 
The soldier who sank that ship was a hero. 
Some weary travellers stopped at the old hotel. 

Section 2. 

XoTE. — The sentence, "Men are happy," does not express a 
truth, because all men are not happy. But the sentence, "Good 
men are happy," is true, because the word good changes the 
meaning of the noun men by denoting a quality or condition. 
Good, then, is an adjective modifier. 



44 white s practical 

The Adverb. 
What is an abverb? 

Ans. — An adverb is a word used to vary the meaning of a 
verb, another adverb, a participle or an adjective. 

Give examples of adverbs. 

Ans. — In the sentence, "This lesson is very long," very is an 
adverb and modifies the adjective long. In the sentence, "Swal- 
lows fly very rapidly," very is an adverb and modifies rapidly; 
and rapidly is an adverb modifying the verb fly. 

What are adverbs called in analysis? 

Ans. — They are called adverbial elements, or adverbial modi- 
fiers. 

Note. — When adverbs and adverbial elements are used to 
modify verbs, they tell how, why, when, where or how often 
the action is done. Nearly all words ending in ly are adverbs, 
and they tell how. 

Section 3. 

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs. 

Why are adjectives and adverbs sometimes changed in form, 
as mild, milder, mildest? 

Ans. — To express degrees of quality or condition. 

What is such a change called? 
Ans. — It is called comparison. 

Define comparison. 

Ans. — Comparison is a change in the form of an adjective 
or adverb to express variation or degrees of quality or condi- 
tion. 

How many and what are the degrees of comparison? 
Ans. — There are three degrees of comparison : Positive, 
Comparative and Superlative. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 45 

What is the use of the positive degree ? 

Ans. — The positive degree expresses the simple or common 
quality, degree or condition. 

Give examples of adjectives in the positive degree of com- 
parison. 

Ans. — A good book ; a mild winter ; a loud noise ; a beauti- 
ful picture. 

What is the use of the comparative degree? 

Ans. — The comparative degree expresses quality, degree or 
condition of a higher or lower order than that expressed by 
the positive. 

Give examples of adjectives in the comparative degree. 
Ans. — A better book ; a milder winter ; a louder noise ; a 
more beautiful picture. 

What is the use of the superlative degree of comparison? 
Ans. — The superlative degree expresses the highest or lowest 
possible degree of quality, degree or condition. 

Give examples of adjectives in the superlative degree. 
Ans. — The best book ; the mildest winter ; loudest noises ; the 
most beautiful picture. 

Refer to LESSON XXV and name all descriptive adjectives 
found in the list of sentences given. Compare each by the 
following model : Positive, mild ; Comparative, milder ; Super- 
lative, mildest. Also ; Positive, useful ; Comparative, more use- 
ful ; Superlative, most useful. 

Section 4. 

Kinds of Elements, or Modifiers. 

The subject and predicate of a proposition are called the 
leading, or principal elements of the sentence. In addition to 



* 46 white's practical 

these, there are three kinds of modifying elements: Adjective, 
Objective and Adverbial. 

What is an adjective element? 

Ans. — An adjective element is a word, phrase or clause 
which modifies a noun or some expression used as a noun. 

Give examples of adjective elements. 

Ans. — A rich man ; a man of wealth; a man who is wealthy. 

What constitutes a "phrase?" 

Ans. — A phrase consists of two or more words which modify 
as a single word. It has neither subject nor predicate and, 
therefore, does not express a thought ; as, to see ; on time ; over 
and over. 

What is a clause? 

Ans. — A clause is a group of words having both a subject 
and a predicate but which, by itself, does not make complete 
sense. Incomplete or subordinate propositions are clauses ; 
as, A girl, who was sick, came to school. 

What is an objective element? 

Ans. — An objective element is a word, phrase or clause used 
as the object of a transitive verb. 

Give examples of objective elements. 

Ans. — We built our house; I like to read; John said that the 
ball did not belong to him. 

What is an adverbial element? 

Ans. — An adverbial element is a word, phrase or clause used 
to modify a verb, another adverb, a participle or an adjective. 

Give examples of adverbial modifiers. 

Ans. — They were greatly frightened ; They were frightened 
by the soldiers; They were frightened when the soldiers re- 
turned. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 47 

LESSON xxvn. 

Classes of Pronouns. 

We learned in Lesson XI that there are three classes of pro- 
nouns : Personal, Relative and Interrogative. The use of 
personal pronouns is nicely illustrated in the following sen- 
tence : "John lost his ball in his yard, and when he found it 
he took it to his room and put it in his trunk." 

Now, if we had no personal pronouns, how would this sen- 
tence read? 

Ans. — John lost John's ball in John's yard, and when John 
found John's ball John took John's ball to John's room and 
put John's ball in John's trunk. 

What is a relative pronoun? 

Ans. — A relative pronoun is a word which stands for a 
noun, and also connects two propositions. 

Name some relative pronouns. 
Ans. — Who, which and what. 

In the sentence, "The farmer who was busy making hay, 
answered us civilly," which word is a relative pronoun? 
Ans. — Who is a relative pronoun. 

What is the use of "who" in the above sentence? 
Ans. — It has two uses : First, it stands for and relates to 
farmer. Second, it joins the two propositions. 

What kind of sentence is it? 
Ans. — It is a complex sentence. 

Why is it a complex sentence? 

Ans. — Because it contains a complete and also an incomplete 
proposition. 

Xame the complete proposition. 

Ans. — The farmer answered us civilly. 



48 WHITES PRACTICAL 

Name the incomplete, or subordinate proposition. 
Ans. — Who was busy making hay. 

What is the antecedent of the pronoun "who?" 
Ans. — Parmer is its antecedent. 

How many kinds of relative pronouns are there ? 
Ans. — There are two kinds : Simple and Compound. 

Name the simple relatives. 

Ans. — Who, which, what, that and as. 

Name the compound relatives. 

Ans. — Whoever, whoso, whosoever, whichever, whichsoever, 
whatever, whatsoever. What is sometimes called a double 
relative, equivalent to that which or the thing which. 

How are compound relatives formed ? 

Ans. — By annexing the syllable so, ever or soever to a sim- 
ple relative. 

Write three sentences containing relative pronouns. Name 
the complete and incomplete propositions in each sentence. 
Point out the antecedents of the relatives you have used. 



Section 2. 

1. Separate the following sentences into complete and in- 
complete propositions. 

2. Tell the kind of nouns used and give number and per- 
son of each. 

3. Point out the adjectives and tell whether they are de- 
scriptive or definite. 

4. Tell the kind of verbs, whether copulative, transitive or 
intransitive. 

5. Designate the adjective, objective and adverbial elements 
and tell what each modifies. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 49 

6. Name the relative pronouns and point out the antecedent 
of each relative : 

i. The man who died left a will. 

2. Reading is an art which deserves cultivation. 

3. The lady whom you met is a school-teacher. 

4. He will do what is right. 

5. That is the house in which Henry lives. 

6. The doctor's horse, which ran away, was badly crippled. 

7. The house that Uncle Ned built, was destroyed by fire. 

8. The little animal tried to do whatever the man did. 

9. The principal servants of the crown were men whose 
names have acquired an enviable notoriety. 

10. A song I sing, an humble song 
For the farmer's honest calling; 
Whose sinews strong toil all day long 
In plowing, threshing, mauling — 
Whose manly step and upright form 
We recognize on meeting — 

Whose hardened hand we haste to grasp 

In friendship's cordial greeting. — William Hubbard. 

Note. — The words what in the fourth sentence, and what- 
ever in the eighth are each equivalent to that which or the 
thing which. 

lessox xxvm. 

Interrogative Pronouns. 

What is an interrogative pronoun? 

Ans. — An interrogative pronoun is one that is used in ask- 
ing a question; as, Which is yours? 

Name the interrogative pronouns. 

Ans. — Who, which and what are often used as interrogative 
pronouns. 



50 WHITES PRACTICAL 

Note. — Who is always an interrogative pronoun when used 
in asking a question, but which and what are not interrogative 
pronouns when they immediately precede the name of the 
person or thing about which inquiry is made. In the sentence, 
" Which is yours?" which is an interrogative pronoun. But 
in the sentence, "Which book is yours?" which is an adjective 
and modifies the noun book. 

Do interrogative pronouns have antecedents? 
Ans. — They do not have antecedents, but they do have sub- 
sequents. 

What does the word "subsequent" mean? 

Ans. — Subsequent means something that follows. 

What, then, is the subsequent of an interrogative pronoun? 
Ans. — It is that part of the answer to the question which 
refers to the pronoun itself. 

In the sentence, "Who wrote this letter/*— James^ " which 
word is an interrogative pronoun? 

Ans. — The word who is an interrogative pronoun. 

What is the subsequent of "who?" 

Ans. — The noun James is the subsequent. 

Why is "James" the subsequent? 

Ans. — Because it is that part of the answer represented by 
zvho. 

Note. — The subsequent of an interrogative pronoun is not 
always given in the sentence, in which case it is said to be 
indefinite ; that is, not known. 

Write three sentences containing interrogative pronouns, and 
name the subsequent of each. 

Note. — Some authors divide pronouns into four classes : 
Personal, Possessive, Relative, and Interrogative. We prefer 
three divisions only, for reasons given below. 

Any effort to properly present a treatise on the disposition 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 5 1 

of possessive pronouns tends toward perplexity rather than 
perspicuity, and this should be avoided, because Grammar, 
even in its simplest form, is more or less mystifying to the 
young mind. 

It is claimed that such words as mine, thine, hers, ours, 
yours, theirs, etc., are possessive pronouns because the name 
of the thing possessed does not always follow such words. 

Sentence : "This book is mine." By declension we find that 
mine is a personal pronoun in the possessive case, and not in 
the nominative case, as given by some authors. We also find 
that mine is in first person, and not in third person, as would 
be the case if "book" were taken for its antecedent. Mine is 
also in common gender rather than in neuter gender. Say that 
mine is a personal pronoun, equivalent to my book. 

Take the following sentences : "This book is hers," and 
"This book is Mary's." If the argument be sound, that pos- 
sessive pronouns represent both the possessor and the thing 
possessed, then the word hers must change its nature, use, 
name and class. In other words, if hers represents two things, 
— the noun book and the name of the person spoken of, — then 
the word Mary's in the other sentence, must also represent 
two things. If hers in the one instance is in neuter gender to 
agree with book as its antece^deri£"then Mary's may, with equal 
propriety, be parsed as a noun in neuter gender. But this is 
absurb. Parse hers as a personal pronoun, equivalent to her 
book. 

Such disposition of pronouns does not violate any principles 
of Grammar. 



52 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 
Section 2. 

Diagram of the Pronoun. 



Personal 



Pronoun { Relative 



Simple 
Compound 



{Simple 
Compound 



Number 



Person 



[ Interrogative 



i 



Gender 



Case 



Singular 
Plural 
First 
Second 

Third 

'Masculine 
Feminine 
Common 
Neuter 

Nominative 
J Possessive 
Objective 
Independent 



LESSON XXIX. 

The Participle and Its Use. 

What is a participle? 

Ans. — A participle is a form of the verb which assumes or 
implies action or being. The word participle means taking a 
part of, partaking. 

Note. — A participle is always derived from a verb, and it 
partakes of the use of a verb and of an adjective, or of a verb 
and a noun. 

Give examples of participles. 

Ans. — The man, zvalking on the beach, fell into the water. 

A field, plowed early in the season, produces most grain. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 53 

How many and what are the participles ? 
Ans. — There are three participles : Present, Past and Com- 
pound. 

What is the use of the present participle ? 
Ans. — The present participle is used to express continuance 
of action or being ; as, loving, reading, moving. 

What does a participle modify? 

Ans. — A participle, like an adjective, always modifies some 
noun or pronoun. 

Where is the participle usually found in the sentence, before 
or after the noun which it modifies ? 

Ans. — It is usually placed after the noun. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — The panther, crouching, prepared to spring upon its 
prey. 

What does crouching modify in the sentence given above ? 
Ans. — It modifies the noun panther. 

How does the present participle always end ? 
Ans. — It always ends in ing. 

Note. — In the sentence, "Walking fatigues me," zvalking is 
not a participle, but is a verbal noun used as the subject of the 
sentence. 

What is the use of the past participle? 

Ans. — The past participle is used to express completion of 
action or being ; as redeemed, surrounded, loved. 

In the sentence, "The tree, stripped of its leaves, looked like 
a skeleton, " which word is a participle? 
Ans. — Stripped is a participle. 



54 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

Why is "stripped" a participle? 

Ans. — Because it is a form of the verb which implies or as- 
sumes action or being, and modifies the noun tree. 

What kind of participle is "stripped?" 

Ans. — Stripped is the past participle because it denotes com- 
pletion of action. 

Section 2. 

What is the use of the compound participle? 
Ans. — The compound participle denotes completion of ac- 
tion or being before or at the time represented by the verb. 

Give examples of compound participles. 

Ans. — Having written, having loved, having been loved. 

Tell the kind of participles in the following sentences, and 
also tell what each modifies: 

i. I saw the men working in the field. 

2. Send me a book written by Holmes. 

3. A house, beautifully furnished, makes a nice home. 

4. The man died, respected by all who knew him. 

5. The colonel having been captured, the regiment sur- 
rendered. 

Note* — Be careful to distinguish between present or past 
participles, and verbs or parts of verbs. In the sentence," Jane 
is reading," reading is not a participle, but is a part of the verb 
is reading, in the progressive form. And in the sentence, "He 
is loved by all who know him," loved is not a participle, but 
is a part of the verb is loved. 

Sentences illustrated by diagrams below : 

1. Your talking so freely interested the children. 

2. We earn money by working for it. 

3. Send me a book written by Holmes. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 55 

4. The coroner found the man dying. 

5. The coroner found the man dead. 

6. The lawyer sat reflecting, soliloquizing and philosoph- 
izing. 



thJU^rx^ A Lo^JtjLrrtjStejcL A Q^M^rt^t^ 




/IE. A &cum. A TrumJUS X A <&SrvaC A &&&*: 




The word "talking," in the first sentence, is a verbal noun, 
and in its noun use is modified by your, an adjective element. 
In its verbal use, "talking" is modified by freely, an adverbial 
element. 

In the second sentence, "working," as a verbal noun, is the 
object of the proposition by, but in its verbal use, "working 
is modified by for it, an adverbial element. 

The word "written," in the third sentence, is a participle 
modifying the noun book, and is modified by the phrase, by 
Holmes, an adverbial element. 

The words "dying" and "dead" in the fourth and fifth sen- 



56 white's practical 

tences, are adjective elements, yet they have an adverbial 
signification. The sentence does not mean that the coroner 
searched for the man and found him, but that dying or dead 
was his condition when examined. Therefore we blend the 
adjective and adverb uses and say that the coroner found dy- 
ing, or found dead the man. See also: The clerk kept me 
waiting. I heard the bell tolling. The pupils came crowding 
around. She soon found the story growing old. I saw the 
men working in the field. 

The sixth sentence has a compound predicate composed of 
the three participles, all of which modify the subject. The 
word "sat" is here used as a copulative verb. 

LESSON XXX. 

The Preposition. 

What is a preposition? 

Ans. — A preposition is a word which shows the relation be- 
tween a noun or pronoun, called its object, and some other 
word. 

What is the meaning of the word "preposition?" 
Ans. — Preposition means something placed before. 

Give examples of the use of prepositions. 
Ans. — He goes to school. They live in town. 

Between what words does "to" show relation? 
Ans. — It shows relation between goes and school 

What is the object of a preposition? 

Ans. — The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun 
which follows it in thought. 

What is the object of the preposition "in," in the sentence, 
"They live in town?" 

Ans. — Town is the object. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 57 

Name some prepositions . 

Ans. At, for, from, in, into, of, on, over, with, to, before. 

Analyze or diagram the following sentences, and point out 
the nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs and prepositions. Between 
what words does each preposition show relation ? 



The book lies on the table. 

Aunt Lucy lives over the hill on a farm. 

Carlo went under the water above the mill-dam. 

I shall look for you very early in the morning. 

He resides in Parkersburg, but travels all over the state. 

Men live in houses and read by light from electric lamps. 



Note. — The word all in the fifth sentence is used as an ad- 
verb and modifies the phrase over the state. 

LESSON XXXI. 

The Conjunction. 

Section 1. 

What is a conjunction? 

Ans. — A conjuntion is a word which connects independent 
words, phrases and clauses. 

Give examples of the use of conjunctions. 
Ans. — Lottie and Ida study Latin and Greek. 

Neither James nor Edward was at the festival. 

What words are conjunctions in the above sentences? 
Ans. — The word and in the first sentence, and neither and nor 
in the second. 

In the sentence "Herbert walks or rides every day/' which 
word is a conjunction? 

Ans. — Or is a conjunction and connects walks and rides. 



58 white's practical, 

Note. — There are two kinds of conjunctions: Coordinate 
and Subordinate conjunctions. 

Define each kind of conjunctions. 

Ans. — Coordinates connect elements of the same grade or 
rank; as, Men and women were present. Subordinates con- 
nect elements of different grades or ranks: as, He said that 
all was lost. 

Name some conjunctions. 

Ans. — And, if, or, that, nor, than, unless, still, yet, either-or. 

Point out the nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, 
prepositions and conjunctions in the following sentences: 



i 



The boys and girls started home early. 



2. I will go away tomorrow if I go at all. 

3. William did not come, for he was very sick. 

4. John and Henry study and recite Grammar and Rhetoric. 

5. I remember part of it, but I do not remember the entire 
sentence. 

6. We will go and help you with the work if you will help 
us in return. 

7. If the weather changes soon, it may either snow or rain. 

Section 2. 

The Interjection. 

What is an interjection? 

Ans. — An interjection is a word used to express surprise, 
fear, anger, indignation or other strong emotion. 

Name some interjections. 

Ans. — Ah, O, oh, alas, indeed, pshaw, adieu, hark, aha, 
farewell. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 59 

Where is the interjection usually found in a sentence? 
Ans. — At or near the beginning of the sentence. 

Give examples of the use of interjections. 
Ans. — O John, you should not do so. 

Pshaw, there is not a word of truth in it. 

Section 3. 

The following unique and poetical list of the parts of 
speech, together with a definition for each, is taken from one 
of Dr. Miles' publications : 

The Parts of Speech. 

Three little words you often see 

Are articles— "a," "an" and "the," 

A noun's the name of anything, 

As "house" or "garden," "hoop" or "swing." 

Instead of nouns the pronouns stand, 

"Her" head, "your" face, "his" arm, "my" hand. 

Adjectives tell the kind of noun, 

"As "great," "small," "pretty," "white" or "brown." 

A preposition stands before 

A noun, as "in" or "through" the door. 

Verbs tell of something to be done — 

To "sing" or "laugh," "jump," "skip" or "run." 

How things are done the adverbs tell, 

As "slowly," "quickly," "ill" or "well." 

Conjunctions join the words together, 

As men "or" women, wind "and" weather. 

An interjection shows surprise, 

As "Oh!" how pretty! "Ah!" how wise! 

The whole are called nine parts of speech, 

Which reading, writing and speaking teach. 



6o white's practical 

Model Diagrams. 
Section 4. 

Sentences : Bessie and Alice study music. 
Fannie sings and plays. 



CXjLljzj^ 



/ a<&lcLsa ttuu.<sm* ^7*a»i*iikA 



■&*&* 



Observe the arrangement of compound subject and com- 
pound predicate in the sentences illustrated above. 



Sentence: William and Henry study and recite grammar 
and rhetoric. 



By this system of diagrams all lines are drawn by natural 
movements of the hand. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 6l 







These two diagrams illustrate the arrangement of preposi- 
tional phrases used as modifiers. The word "just" modifies the 
phrase around the corner. 



v/ ~7 *& / 




Relative pronouns should always be so placed on the dia- 
gram that an oblique line may extend from each to its ante- 
cedent, as is clearly shown on these two diagrams. 



62 



white: s practical 



S*)nT£nc£s Diagramed. 

Both Simon and Silas enlisted in the army. 

He is neither old nor infirm. 

He is old as well as infirm. 

He is a man whose character is perfect. 

The roses faded where they bloomed. 

You talk as if you owned the farm. 

I was informed that he returned. 






iJfe, 




When two conjunctions are used together like "both — and" 
in the first sentence given above, they are called correlative 
conjunctions, because one introduces words and the other con- 
nects them. When the words thus connected are nouns the 
introductory conjunction may be parsed as an adjective modi- 
fying both nouns, as shown on the diagram. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 63 

"Neither — nor," as used in the second sentence, are correla- 
tive conjunctions. Neither introduces the adjective predicates 
and nor connects them. 

"As well as," in the third sentence, has the force of a single 
word and is a conjunction connecting the two adjectives used 
as a compound predicate. 

"Whose," in the fourth sentence is a relative pronoun in the 
possessive case, and as such, not only connects the two prop- 
ositions, but also modifies the noun character. 

"Where," in the fifth sentence, is a conjunctive adverb con- 
necting the two propositions, and modifies both verbs. 

"As if" and "that," in the sixth and seventh sentences, are 
pure conjunctions, and have no other use than to connect the 
principal and subordinate propositions. 

Composition Writing. 

Section 5. 

All the parts of speech have now been introduced, and pupils 
should next learn to use words, phrases and clauses in sen- 
tences. They should learn to form paragraphs, sections and 
complete productions. Composition writing should be com- 
menced as soon as pupils have obtained a fair knowledge of 
the principles of grammar. At first, nothing more than the 
writing of short sentences should be undertaken. They should 
exercise due care in the selection and arrangement of words 
to express the thought in plain language. Refer to chapters 
on capitalization and punctuation in the back part of this book. 
The purpose of this chapter is to teach pupils to think, and to 
express their thoughts by the use of appropriate words. The 
wise teacher will require thoroughness in all preliminary mat- 



64 white's practical 

ters relating to the correct expression of thought in sentences 
and paragraphs. 

The very name composition seems to have a depressing ef- 
fect upon most pupils. They soon exhaust their vocabulary 
of words and become discouraged. This dread may be over- 
come, and this treatise on composition writing is intended to 
aid pupils in acquiring a more extensive vocabulary. 

Sentences should be written in different ways. The thought 
should be expressed by the use of different words. Do not 
feel satisfied with one writing, but re-write it a number of 
times ; for by repeated effort in this manner pupils will soon 
more than double the number of words at their command. 

A good plan for beginners is to read some interesting story, 
and then write it out in their own words. Do not expect them 
to be original in the first work along this line. Let them take 
a poem and write the thought it contains in prose. This is 
called paraphrasing. 

The "Old Home," by T. B. Read, is a good selection for 
practice of this kind : 

"Between broad fields of wheat and corn. 
Is the lowly home where I was born ; 
The peach-tree leans against the wall, 
And the woodbine wanders over all. 
There is the barn, — and as of yore, 
I can smell the hay from the open door, 
And see the busy swallows throng, 
And hear the peewee's mournful song. 
Oh, ye who daily cross the sill, 
Step lightly, for I love it still ! 
And when you crowd the old barn eaves, 
Then think what countless harvest sheaves 
Have passed within that scented door, 
To gladden eyes that are no more." 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 65 

Description should have special attention. Let pupils write 
all they can about the object, then suggest thoughts so that 
when the production is re-written it will be lengthened and 
enlarged. 

In describing persons or objects, keep in mind what you 
wish to do. Think, think, think. Rely upon your own ob- 
servation and knowledge until you feel the need of something 
more, and then refer to books or periodicals for further in- 
formation. See, hear, feel, taste, smell. Any of the five senses 
may aid in describing objects. Always keep the subject in 
sight. 

Write a description of the following : 

A Desk ; A Wagon ; A Lead Pencil ; A School House ; An 
Orange. 

Write compositions choosing subjects from the following: 
A Birthday Party; A Night in the Woods; Caught in a 

Storm ; My First Visit ; Climbing the Mountain ; Christmas 

Holidays; A Visit to the Capital. 

Write compositions selecting your own subjects. 

Study the following description of "A Yorkshire Forest 
Scene," by Sir Walter Scott : 

"The sun was setting upon one of the rich, grassy glades 
of the forest. Hundreds of broad-headed, short-stemmed, 
wide-branched oaks, which had witnessed, perhaps, the stately 
march of the Roman soldiery, flung their gnarled arms over 
a thick carpet of the most delicious greensward. In some 
places they were intermingled with beeches, hollies, and cops- 
wood of various descriptions, so closely as totally to intercept 
the level beams of the sinking sun ; in others, they receded 
from each other, forming those long sweeping vistas, in the 
intricacy of which the eye delights to lose itself, while imag- 
ination considers them as the paths to yet wilder scenes of 



66 WHITES PRACTICAL 

sylvan solitude. Here, the red rays of the sun shot a broken 
and discolored light that partially hung upon the shattered 
boughs and mossy trunks of the trees; and there, they illumi- 
nated, in brilliant patches, the portions of turf to which they 
made their way. 

A considerable open space in the midst of this glade seemed 
formerly to have been dedicated to the rights of Druidical su- 
perstition; for, on the summit of a hillock so regular as to 
seem artificial, there still remained part of a circle of rough 
unhewn stones of large dimensions. Seven stood upright ; the 
rest had been dislodged from their places, probably by the 
zeal of some convert to Christianty, and lay, some prostrate 
near their former site, and others on the side of the hill. One 
large stone only had found its way to the bottom; and, in 
stopping the course of a small brook which glided smoothly 
round the foot of the eminence, gave, by its opposition, a feeble 
voice of murmur to the placid, and elsewhere silent streamlet." 

Pupils write more readily from information obtained by 
reading or from observation. A good plan is to have them 
read the life of some prominent person, and then to write a 
biography of that person. A biography is a life history of an 
individual written by somebody else. 

Read the life history of the following noted persons, and 
write a biography of each : 

Benjamin Franklin; George W. Dewey; Patrick Henry; 
Queen Elizabeth ; Joan of Arc ; William McKinley ; Mary 
Queen of Scotts. 

Sample: Outline: of a Biography. 

1. Theme — Benjamin Franklin, 
i. His Early Life. 

2. Birth. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 67 



3. 

4- 

5- 


Childhood. 

Youth. 

Manhood. 


II. 
1. 
2. 

3- 
4. 


His after Life. 

Occupation. 

Difficulties. 

Successes and Failures 

Death. 



Chapter on Letter Writing. 

Section 6. 

A letter is a kind of composition, and while pupils are learn- 
ing to construct sentences and paragraphs, they readily learn 
to use them in neatly written letters. 

A good plan is to have pupils write to some absent friend 
or even to the teacher, herself, and then examine the letter ac- 
cording to the following directions : Place a neatly written 
letter on the blackboard. Explain and illustrate each part of 
the letter. Require pupils to copy it a number of times, noting 
the arrangement of the date, the introduction, the body of the 
letter, and the closing of the same. Require them to repro- 
duce each part of the letter itself, following this by a complete 
reproduction of the entire letter. 

Parts of a Letter. 

What is the first part of a letter called ? 
Ans. — It is called the heading. 

What does the heading of a letter usually contain ? 
Ans. — The name of the writer's post office, the name of the 
state in which he lives, and the date. If the writer lives in 



68 



WHITES PRACTICAL 



a city, the door or house number and name of the street are 
often given. A person in Cincinnati would use the following 
heading : 

Cincinnati, Ohio, March 8, 1899. 



Or two lines may be used : 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 
March 8, 1899. 

When two lines are used, what part of the heading is placed 
on the second line ? 

Ans. — The name of the month, the day of the month and the 
year. 

How should the heading of a letter be punctuated ? 

Ans. — A comma should be placed after the name of the post 
office, one after the name of the state, and one after the day 
of the month. A period should be placed after the year. 



Co 



Forms of Headings. 

Columbus, Ohio, June 10, 1899. 



(2) 



Columbus, Ohio, 
May 10, 1899. 



Sometimes the name of a college or other institution is 
made a part of the heading : 



(3) 



Union College, 
Pittsburg, Pa., 
July 4, 1899. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 69 

(4) 18 Center Street, Weston, W. Va., 

February 25, 1900. 



What is the second part of a letter called? 
Ans. — It is called the introduction. 



What does the introduction usually contain ? 

Ans. — The name of the person to whom the letter is written, 
the name of his post office, the name of the state in which he 
lives, and appropriate words of salutation ; as — 

Joseph Allen, Esq., 

Pittsburg, Pa. 
My Dear Sir, 



Is there any exception to this form? 

Ans. — Yes ; when writing to relatives or to intimate friends, 
the name of the post office and state may be omitted, and only 
appropriate words of salutation used ; as — 

(1) Dear Mother, 



(2) My Dear Sister, 



(3) Mr. John Dolan, 

Portland, Me. 
Dear Sir, — I am in receipt of yours &c. 

(4) Mrs. Julia Hanson, 

Louisville, Ky. 
Dear Madam, 



JO WHITES PRACTICAL 

(5) Lawton & Co., 

20 Vesey St., 
New York City. 
Gentlemen: — Yours of recent date &c. 

How should the introduction be punctuated? 

Ans. — A comma should be placed after the name of the 
person or firm, and one after the name of the post office. A 
period should be placed after the name of the state. 

What should be placed after the word or words of salutation, 
as, Dear Sir, or Dear Friend ? 

Ans. — When the body of the letter begins on the same line, 
the colon and dash, or comma and dash should be used. 

When the body of the letter begins on the line below the 
salutation, what should be used? 

Ans. — The comma or colon should be used when the body 
of the letter begins on the line below the words of salutation. 

Note:. — It is considered good usage, however, to use the 
comma and dash, or colon and dash, even when the body of 
the letter begins on the line below the salutation. 

Miss Lucy Overfield, 

Providence, R. I. 
Dear Friend, — (Begin here.) Also ; 
Dear Friend: — (Begin here.) Or; 
Dear Friend, 

(Begin here.) Also; 



Dear Friend : 
(Begin here.) 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. Jl 

Dear Uncle James, — (Begin here.) Or; 
Dear Uncle James, 
(Begin here.) 

What is the third part of a letter called ? 
Ans. — It is called the body of the letter, and contains the 
information the writer wishes to convey. 

What is the last part of a letter called ? 

Ans. — It is called the conclusion, and contains the closing 
words and the signature of the writer ; as — 

(i) Very truly, 

William Jones. 



(2) Yours respectfully, 

Dan Johnson. 

Sometimes the address of the writer is placed after his 
signature, or near the left margin of the page ; as — 

(3) Very truly yours, 

Ben Burchard, 
14 Madison Ave., 
Albany, N. Y. 



Or, (4) 

14 Madison Ave., Very truly yours, 

Albany, N. Y. Ben Burchard. 



(5) With best wishes, I am, 

Yours very truly, 
(Name) .... 



72 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



What is the writing on the envelope called ? 
Ans.- — It is called the superscription, or address. 
What does it contain ? 

Ans. — It contains the name and address of the person to 
whom the letter is written. 

Form of Superscription. 



Mr. Ezra Martin, 

Jacksonville, 
W. Va. 




Harrison. Co., 



Rev. W. H. Robertson, 
Jarvisville, 

West Virginia. 




A Business Letter. 



Weston, West Virginia, 

Dec. 17, 1899. 



American Book Co., 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Gentlemen, 



We are anxious to obtain the "Franklin Spelling Blanks" 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 73 

for use in our school. Prof. Wilkinson informs us that your 
company can furnish them at greatly reduced prices. If so, 
you will please send 500 copies at once, and oblige, 

Yours truly, 

(Name) 



Social notes of invitation, regret or acceptance, are expressed 
in third person, and the time and place of writing is placed 
below the body of the note and at the left-hand side. 

(1) 

Mrs. Duniiington requests the presence of Prof. Wethered 
at dinner on Saturday next at 5 o'clock. 
14 Main St., 

June 4. 

(Answer) 

Mr. Wethered accepts with pleasure Mrs. Dunnington's in- 
vitation to dinner on Saturday next. 

Bailey House, 

June 3. 

(2) 
Mr. R. Allen presents his respects to Miss Bassell and asks 
the pleasure of her company to the Festival on Monday eve- 
ning. 

Camden Hotel, 

June 20. 

(Answer) 

Miss Bassel presents her compliments to Mr. Allen, and re- 
grets that sickness will prevent her acceptance of his invitation 
Monday evening. 

Hospital, 
June 18. 

6 



74 



white: s practical 
Mothers Excuse of Son at School. 



Will Miss White be kind enough to excuse Anson Mason 
from school at three o'clock today, and greatly oblige his 
mother. 

17 Center St., 
Thursday noon. 



L£TT£r of Introduction. 

Parkersburg, W. Va., June 1, 1900. 

(Name omitted here) 
My dear Sir, 

This will introduce to you my friend C. H. Poling, a car- 
penter and brick mason, and a resident of Clarksburg. Any 
favors shown him during his stay in your city will be esteemed 
as a personal favor by 

Your friend, 

Isaac Noble. 
On the envelope containing the above letter should be writ- 
ten: 







(Name of Person to receive it) 


Clarksburg, 




West Virginia. 




Introducing Mr. C. H. Poling. 





PART II. 



LESSON XXXII. 
Section 1. 

Properties of Nouns and Pronouns, continued. 

What is meant by a property or form of any part of speech ? 
Ans. — It means anything that belongs to that part of speech. 

What properties have nouns and pronouns ? 
Ans. — Xouns and pronouns have four properties : Number, 
Person, Gender and Case. 

What is number? (See Lesson VI) 

What is person? (-See Lesson VI) 

Analyze or diagram the following sentences, and name all 
the parts of speech. In what number and person is each noun 
and pronoun used? 

John, where is your slate and pencil? 
Jessie is a good artist, and she paints beautiful pictures. 
America is a great country and is ruled without a king. 
Children should obey their parents and teachers. 
Young men, you should not spend your time in idleness. 
Mothers are often too kind to their sons and daughters. 
You, he and I should be more careful in selecting friends. 
The Americans and the Spaniards had a little dispute. 
Nations often resort to arms when it is not wise to do so. 
Where vegetation is abundant, there is no drought. 
The entwining vine will sap the vitality of the strongest 
oak, and weeds choke the life out of the growing grain. 

75 



9 
io 
ii 



76 white's practical 

Section 2. 

Gender of Nouns and Pronouns. 

What is gender ? 

Ans. — Gender is that form of nouns and pronouns which dis- 
tinguishes males from females. 

How many and what genders have nouns and pronouns ? 
Ans. — There are four genders : Masculine, Feminine, Com- 
mon and Neuter. 

Note. — Strictly speaking, there are only two genders, male 
and female ; but for more extended classification, we add com- 
mon and neuter. Common gender means belonging to either 
or both sexes, and neuter gender means belonging to neither 
sex. Neuter gender really means no gender. 

To what kind of names does the masculine gender apply? 
Ans. — It applies to names of males ; as, man, boy, son, 
brother. 

To what kind of names does the feminine gender apply ? 
Ans. — It applies to names of females ; as, girl, woman, sister, 
mother. 

To what kind of names does the common gender apply? 
Ans. — It applies to names of males or females, or both ; as, 
parent, children, audience, company. 

To what kind of names does the neuter gender apply? 
Ans. — It applies to names of objects without life; as, book, 
desk, pen, house, street. 

Name the gender of all nouns and pronouns in the sentences 
under Section i of this lesson. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. JJ 

LESSON XXXIH. 

Cask of Nouns and Pronouns. 

What is meant by "case" of nouns and pronouns? 

Ans. — Case means certain uses or functions of nouns and 
pronouns. The case of a noun or pronoun shows its use, 
whether it is used as the subject, the predicate, or an object; or 
whether it denotes possession. 

Note. — Observe the different uses of the nouns in the fol- 
lowing : 

1. Liquids flow. 

2. William is a mechanic. 

3. Henry writes Latin. 

4. Jason, prepare your lesson. 

5. Hattie's slate is broken. 

These functions or uses of nouns and pronouns are called 
cases. 

How many and what cases have nouns and pronouns ? 
Ans. — Four: Nominative, Possessive, Objective and Inde- 
pendent. 

What is the use to which the nominative case is applied ? 
Ans. — The nominative case is the use of a noun or pronoun 
as subject or predicate of a proposition. 

In the sentence, "Roses bloom," in what case is "roses"? 
Ans. — Roses is in the nominative case, because it is used as 
the subject of the sentence. 

In the sentence, "Sheep are animals," in what case is "ani- 
mals"? 

Ans. — Animals is in the nominative case, because it is used 
as the predicate of the sentence. 



78 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



Note. — Nouns may also be in the nominative case by ap- 
position, that is, by meaning the same person or thing as a 
noun already in the nominative case. 

Give an example of a noun in the nominative case by ap- 
position. 

Ans. — Joseph, the banker, is sick. Here banker is in the 
nominative case by apposition, because it means the same per- 
son as the name Joseph, which is already in the nominative case. 

Note. — A noun may also be in apposition with a pronoun; 
as, "He, the sailor, told a sorrowful tale." Here the noun 
sailor is in apposition with the pronoun he. 

Refer to sentences in LESSON XIII, Section 3, and point 
out all nouns and pronouns that are in the nominative case. 



LESSON XXXIV. 

Possessive Case. 

What is the use of the possessive case ? 

Ans. — The possessive case is used to denote possession, au- 
thorship or ownership. 

Give examples of nouns or pronouns in the possessive case. 
Ans. — This is a copy of White's Grammar. 
The boy's hat was left in my room. 

In the sentence, "Henry's horse ran away," which noun is 
in the possessive case, and why ? 

Ans. — Henry's is in the possessive case because it denotes 
ownership. 

What kind of elements or modifiers are nouns and pronouns 
in the possessive case ? 

Ans. — They are adjective elements and modify the name of 
the thing possessed. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 79 

How is the possessive case usually formed? 

Ans. — By annexing the 's to the nominative singular; as, 
John's pen. 

By annexing the apostrophe only to the nominative plural 
ending in ^ ; as, The Teachers' association ; Boys' hats. 

By annexing the 's to plural nouns not ending with s; as, 
Men's wages ; Children's toys. 

Name the nouns and pronouns in the following sentences 
that are in the nominative and possessive cases, and tell how 
each is used : 

i. James reads very well. 

2. Mr. Bower repairs ladies' shoes neatly. 

3. The nation's honor depends upon her people. 

4. The sun's rays are warm in summer. 

5. Mary's slate was broken by a little boy. 

6. His lesson is easier than mine or yours. 

7. The child's face was pale and its limbs were cold. 

Subjects for Composition. 

A Day in the Woods. 
A Trip to the Mountains. 
Independence Day. 
(Select other subjects.) 

Change the nouns in the possessive case in the following 
sentences to equivalent phrases consisting of a preposition and 
its object. 

1. Prof. Johnson's death occurred Oct. 20, 1900. 

2. A mother's love endures forever. 

3. The company's capital stock increased rapidly. 

4. A nation's wealth can not be estimated in dollars and 
cents. 



80 WHITES PRACTICAL 

5. Helen's new hat and Josie's new bonnet are beautiful. 

6. Our friend's departure was a surprise to us all. 

Ex. — The death of Prof. Johnson occurred Oct. 20, 1900. 

LESSON XXXV. 

Note. — Before entering into the merits of this lesson, pupils 
should review LESSON XIV and LESSON XXX, which 
treat of transitive verbs and prepositions. 

Objective Case. 

Name the uses of the objective case. 

Ans. — The objective case is used to denote that the person or 
object named is acted upon, or is the object of a preposition. 

In the sentence, "The ball struck the vessel," in what case is 
"vessel"? 

Ans. — Vessel is in the objective case. 

Why is "vessel" in the objective case? 

Ans. — Because it is the name of the object acted upon. 

What kind of verb is "struck"? 
Ans. — It is a transitive verb. 

What is the object of the verb "struck"? 
Ans. — Vessel is the object because the action expressed by 
the verb passes to and acts upon vessel. 

In the sentence, "James lives in a new house," in what case 
is "house" ? 

Ans. — House is in the objective case. 

Tell why "house" is in the objective case? 
Ans. — It is the name which follows the preposition in in 
thought. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 8l 

What kind of elements are nouns and pronouns in the ob- 
jective case after transitive verbs? 
Ans. — They are objective elements. 

Refer to LESSONS XIV and XXX, and point out all nouns 
and pronouns that are in the nominative, possessive or objective 
case. 

LESSON XXXVI. 

Independent Case. 

Section 1. 

■ What is the use of the independent case? 

Ans. — The independent case is used to show that the noun 
has no connection with other words ; that is, it is used inde- 
pendently. 

Give examples of nouns in the independent case. 

Ans. — In the sentence, "James, your watch is too fast," the 
word James has no dependence upon any word or words in the 
sentence, and is, therefore, in the independent case. Also in 
the sentence, "O John ! you are so careless," John has no de- 
dependence upon any word or words in the sentence, and is in 
the independent case by exclamation. 

What is the meaning of the word "independent" as here 
used? 

Ans. — It means alone, not joined to or connected with any 
other words in the sentence. 

In the sentence, "John, bring me your slate," why is the word 
"John" used at all, if it has no dependence upon other words? 

Ans. — The name John is spoken simply to attract his atten- 
tion. 

Note. — Nouns may be in the independent case in five ways : 



82 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



1. By address; as, Sarah, where are you? 

2. By exclamation; as, O William ! why did you go? 

3. By using the noun or pronoun to which leference is made 
in the sentence, before the sentence itself; as, John! I shall not 
give him a penny. 

This use of the noun is called pleonasm. 

4. By using the noun with a participle; as, Darkness com- 
ing on, we adjourned the meeting. 

5. By using the noun as the heading of a section or chapter ; 
as, Independence Day. Or by using it as part of the address 
on an envelope; as, Lucy Anderson, Chicago, 111. 



Diagram of the Noun. 

Section 2. 



Noun 



Class 
Abstract 
Common \ Collective 
Verbal 



Proper 



Number 



{Singular 
Plural 



i First 
Second 
Third 



Gender 



Case 



Masculine 
Feminine 
Common 
Neuter 

Nominative 
Possessive 
Objective 
Independent 



NoT£. — The classification of nouns into Class, Abstract, Col- 
lective and Verbal nouns enables us to understand more fully 
the properties of the various kinds of nouns. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 83 

A Class noun is an ordinary name that applies to any one 
of a class or kind ; as, man, house, town, book. 

An Abstract noun is the name of a quality or condition ; as, 
goodness, wisdom, vanity, sobriety, whiteness. 

A Collective noun is the name of a group or collection ; as, 
jury, people, family, herd, army. 

A Verbal noun is the name of an action ; as, singing, run- 
ning, cheering, writing. 



LESSON XXXVII. 

Note. — Pupils have learned to parse nouns without refer- 
ence to any outlined order or model of parsing. This plan is 
the best that could be adopted. To secure uniformity, however, 
in naming the properties of nouns, the following order of 
parsing is given : 



Order of Parsing Nouns. 

Common or Proper. 

Number. 

Person. 

Gender. 

Case. 

Name its use as subject, predicate, object, or in apposi- 



1 

2 

3 
4 

5 

6, 

tion 



Note. — Refer to sentences given in preceding lessons for a 
more extensive drill in parsing nouns. This phase of the work 
is an important one and should not be neglected. Call it tech- 
nical grammar or what you please, but do not neglect frequent 
drills in parsing and analysis. It is because of such neglect 
that so many teachers fail in teaching this important branch. 



84 white's practical 

LESSON XXXVIII. 

Case of Pronouns. Declension. 

Section 1. 

How may the case of pronouns be determined ? 
Ans. — By declension and use. 

What is "declension" ? 

Ans. — Declension is a variation of the pronoun to denote 
number and case. 

What cases are used in declining pronouns? 
Ans. — Nominative, Possessive and Objective. 

Give examples of declension of pronouns. 

Ans. — Nominative I, Possessive my or mine, Objective me. 

Note. — Nouns may also be declined ; as, Nominative boy, 
Possessive boy's, Objective boy. It is not necessary, however, 
to decline nouns. 

Declension of Simple Personal Pronouns, 
first person. 



singular 

I, 

My or mine, 

Me, 



Thou, 

Thy or thine, 

Thee, 



You, 

Your or vours 

You, 



Nominative, 

Possessive, 

Objective, 

SECOND PERSON. 

Nominative, 

Possessive, 

Objective, 

also: 

Nominative, 

Possessive, 

Objective, 



plural. 

We, 

Our or ours, 

Us. 



Ye, 

Your or yours, 

You. 



You. 

Your or yours, 

You, 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 



THIRD PERSON. 



He, she, it, Nominative, They, 

His, her or hers, its, Possessive, Their or theirs, 

Him, her, it, Objective, Them. 



Declension of Compound Personal Pronouns. 

first person. 

singular plural. 

Myself, Nominative, Ourselves, 

Myself, Objective, Ourselves. 

Note. — Compound personals are declined in two cases only. 

second person. 

Thvself or, I XT . . ,. v i 

v - ir h Nominative, Yourselves, 

Yourself^' 1 Objective, Yourselves. 

THIRD PERSON. 

Himself, ) 

Herself, >- Nominative, Themselves, 

Itself, j 

Himself, ] 

Herself, >- Objective, • Themselves. 

Itself, • ) 

Section 2. 

Two relative and interrogative pronouns are declined as fol- 
lows ; and they may be used in first, second or third person : 



SINGULAR. 




PLURAL. 


Who, 


Nominative, 


Who, 


Whose, 


Possessive, 


Whose, 


Whom, 


Objective, 


Whom. 



86 WHITES PRACTICAL 



Which, 


Nominative, 


Which, 


Whose, 


Possessive, 


Whose, 


Which, 


Objective, 


Which. 



Order of Parsing Pronouns. 

Personal, Relative or Interrogative. 

Simple or Compound. 

Name its antecedent or subsequent. 

Number, Person, Gender and Case. 

Give its Declension. 

Name its use; whether subject, predicate or object. 



Note). — Refer to sentences under the several classes of pro- 
nouns for practice in parsing pronouns. 

LESSON XXXIX. 

Mistakes in the Use of Pronouns. 
Section 1. 

Correct the following sentences and give reasons for the 
changes you make. 

i. Him and me both study Latin. 

2. Let us divide the peaches between you and I. 

3. Who broke the window? It was me. 

4. There was some trouble between the teacher and I. 

5. Me and Lucy went to church. 

6. Whom solved this problem? It was me. 

7. Let you and I go to the show to-night. 

8. Him and I and you will go. 

Note. — When pronouns of different persons are used in the 
same sentence, the one in second person should precede the 
third, and the third should precede the first ; as, You, he and I 
will go. This is because courtesy or politeness requires us to 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 87 

give the person spoken to the first place or first recognition, 
and ourselves the last place or reference. 

Section 2. 

Tell the number, person, gender and case of all nouns and 
pronouns in the following sentences : 

1. Daniel Webster was a great statesman. 

2. West Virginia is a great state. 

3. Harry gave his pencil to Edward. 

4. The train killed a number of men. 

5. Her visitor did not remain long. 

6. Merchants sell goods to their customers. 

7. Frederick, why did you not go to school today ? 

8. Tell us, Edith, whom you met at the railroad station. 

9. The little robin is in its nest. 

10. Miss Howard, the teacher, lost her gold watch. 

Subjects for Composition. 

The Revolutionary War. 
Difficulties of Acquiring an Education. 
The Duties of an American Citizen. 
(Select other subjects.) 

LESSON XL. 

Note.— Review LESSONS XIII, XIV and XV before tak- 
ing up these more advanced lessons. 

Properties of Verbs. 

Section 1. 

What properties have verbs ? 

Ans. — Verbs have five properties : Number, Person, Tense, 
Voice and Mode. (The first two of these properties have al- 
ready been explained.) 



88 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

What is tense? 

Ans. — Tense is that form of the verb which denotes the 
time in which an act is performed. 

Give examples of the tense of verbs. 

Ans. — I walk; I zvalked; I have walked; I shall walk. 

What does the word "tense" mean? 
Ans. — Tense means time. 

How many and what tenses have verbs ? 

Ans. — Verbs have six tenses : Present, Present Perfect,, 
Past, Past Perfect, Future and Future Perfect. 

What does the present tense express ? 

Ans. — It expresses action performed in present time. 

Give examples of the use of present tense. 
Ans. — Mary sings. The grass is growing. 

What does the present perfect tense express ? 
Ans. — It expresses past or completed action as connected 
with present time. 

Give examples of the use of present perfect tense. 

Ans. — The pupils have recited. Our teacher has returned. 

What does the word "perfect" mean? 
Ans. — It means completed, finished. 

How may the present perfect tense usually be known ? 
Ans. — By the use of have, hast or has with any principal 
verb. 

Section 2. 

What does the past tense express? 

Ans. — It expresses action completed in past time. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 89 

Give examples of the use of past tense. 
Ans. — The birds sang. Her pupils recited. 

What does the past perfect tense express ? 
Ans. — It expresses action as completed before the time re- 
ferred to by the verb. 

Give examples of the use of past perfect tense. 
Ans. — They had gone before I arrived. He had already 
solved his problem. 

How may the past perfect tense usually be known? 
Ans. — By the use of had or hadst with any principal verb. 

What does the future tense express ? 

Ans. — It expresses action to be completed in time to come. 

Give examples of the use of future tense. 
Ans. — I shall go. They will return. 

How may the future tense usually be known ? 

Ans. — By the use of shall with any principal verb in first 
person, and zvill with any principal verb is second or third per- 
son. 

NoT£. — Shall is used in second and third persons to denote 
necessity. Will is used in first person to denote determination. 

What does the future perfect tense express ? 
Ans. — It expresses action to be completed before a specified 
time in the future. 

Give examples of the use of future perfect tense. 
Ans. — I shall have completed my task by noon. He will 
have rested before the train arrives. 



90 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

How may the future perfect tense usually be known ? 
Ans. — By the use of shall have or will have with any prin- 
cipal verb. 

Note. — Remember that verbs must agree with their subjects 
in number and person. 



Sentences for General Review of the Tenses. 

i. Mary reads good books and writes fine essays. 

2. The apples look ripe, but they do not feel mellow. 

3. The members of the Legislature gave no thought to the 
effects of their action. 

4. Who has ever seen a more beautiful landscape? 

5. He wishes to know whether you intend to return his 
property. 

6. I have sworn that I will not return it unless he shall 
grant my request. 

7. This new volume is marked by many original features 
which will commend it to teachers and pupils. 

8. A common book will often give you amusement, but it 
is only a noble book that will give you dear friends. 

9. The roof of the cavern was thickly set with diamonds 
and other precious stones, which sparkled and shone like 
thousands of bright stars in the blue sky. 

10. If our perceptions be clear, the walking in wisdom's way 
will direct us to the prospect and goal of lofty attainments. 

11. Human nature has its metes and bounds, and its limita- 
tions are distinctly marked to those who have eyes to see, and 
minds to reflect. 

12. The creation of a new Republic, upon a basis of equality 
and fraternity, had a powerful effect upon the French people 
whose active aid had made success of the American arms in- 
vevitable. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 91 

LESSON XLI. 
Section 1. 

What is voice? 

Ans. — Voice is that form of transitive verbs which shows 
whether the subject performs or receives the action expressed 
by the verb; that is, whether the subject acts or is acted upon. 

Give examples of the use of voice. 

Ans. — John teased James. Here the subject John acts upon 
somebody else (James), and the verb is said to be in the 
active voice. In the sentence, "John was teased by James/' the 
subject John is acted upon by somebody else, and the verb is 
said to be in the passive voice. 

How many and what voices have transitive verbs ? 
Ans. — Transitive verbs have two voices : Active and 
Passive. 

What does the active voice represent? 

Ans. — -It represents the subject of the verb as acting upon 
an object. 

Give examples of the use of the active voice. 

Ans. — John wrote a letter. Here wrote is in the active voice 
because it represents the subject John as acting upon the object 
letter. 

What does the passive voice represent? 

Ans. — It represents the subject of the verb as being acted 
upon by something else. 

Give examples of the use of verbs in the passive voice. 

Ans. — The lesson was recited by Sarah. Here was recited 
is in the passive voice because it represents its subject lesson, 
as being acted upon. 

Note. — Remember that onlv transitive verbs have voice. 



92 WHITE S PRACTICAL 

Write three sentences containing transitive verbs in the ac- 
tive voice. 

Write three sentences containing transitive verbs in the pas- 
sive voice. 

Model : The man plowed the field. (Active) 

The field was plowed by the man. (Passive) 

Note. — Transitive verbs sometimes have two objects ; one is 
called the direct, and the other the indirect object; as, Harvey, 
bring me your book. Here book is the direct object, and' me 
is the indirect object. Most indirect objects may be parsed in 
the objective case after a preposition understood; as, Harvey, 
bring (to) me your book. 

Transitive verbs sometimes have two objects, one of which 
is in apposition with the other ; as, They elected Roland cap- 
tain. Here captain is in the objective case by apposition with 
Roland. When a verb, followed by two objects, as in this 
sentence, is changed to passive form, it loses its transitive use 
and becomes a copulative verb whenever the noun denoting 
rank or office is -used after the verb, and the other noun is 
used as the subject of the sentence; as, Roland was elected 
captain. The word captain is now used as the predicate of 
the sentence, and zvas elected is a copulative verb. 

Section 2. 

Mode of Verbs. 

What is the meaning of the word "mode"? 
Ans. — Mode means manner or way. 

What is mode as applied to verbs ? 

Ans. — Mode is that form of the verb which shows the man- 
ner or way of expressing action or being; as, 

James writes to his sister frequently. 
James may -write this evening. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 93 

If James write, he will be pleased. 

James, write to your sister. 

James likes to zvrite. 

By examining the above sentences we find that the action 
expressed by the verb zvrite is stated in different ways (modes). 
In the first sentence write is used simply to indicate or express 
a fact, and the verb is said to be in the indicative mode. 

In the second sentence, may write expresses possibility of 
writing, or permission to write, and it is said to be in the 
potential mode. 

In the third sentence the action signified by zvrite is ex- 
pressed in a doubtful or conditional manner (mode), denoted 
by the word if preceding it, and the verb is said to be in the 
subjunctive mode. 

In the fourth sentence, zvrite expresses a command or re- 
quest, and the verb is said to be in the imperative mode. 

In the last sentence, to zvrite expresses action in a general 
way, without reference to any agent or subject, and the verb 
is said to be in the infinitive mode. 

Thus we see, action may be expressed in different manner 
or ways, and these different ways of expressing thought are 
called modes. 

How many and what modes have verbs ? 
Ans. — Verbs have five modes: Indicative, Subjunctive, 
Potential, Imperative and Infinitive. 

What is the use of the indicative mode? 

Ans. — The indicative mode is used to express action or be- 
ing as existing, or as an accepted truth. 

Give examples of verbs in the indicative mode. 
Ans. — The moon shines. . Water Hows. 

What is the use of the subjunctive mode? 



94 white's practical 

Ans. — The subjunctive mode is used to express action or 
being as doubtful or conditional. 

Give examples of verbs in the subjunctive mode. 
Ans. — I would go if I had time. I shall not go unless he 
return. 

How may the subjunctive mode usually be known? 
Ans. — By the signs if, though, except, unless, and a few 
others. 

Section 3. 

The following observations should be carefully studied : 

Subjunctive means subjoined; that is, added to in a sub- 
ordinate manner. Sub means under or lower, and subordinate 
means of a lower order. This mode is called subjunctive be- 
cause the clause in which the verb is used, is subjoined or 
added to the principal proposition as a modifying clause. The 
subjunctive mode also expresses contingency, possibility or 
chance of happening. 

Note. — Some authors draw a very fine distinction between 
the verb in the subjunctive, and the verb in the indicative 
mode; as, If it rains (now), indicative, I shall not go. And, 
If it rain (tomorrow), subjunctive, I will not go. 

The evil of this finely drawn distinction is, that even the 
best writers and speakers frequently fail to observe it. The 
rule should be, that when doubt or uncertainty in the writer's 
knowledge of the fact, — not uncertainty as to the fact itself, — 
exists in his mind, he should express that doubt by using the 
subjunctive mode. 

But when no doubt is felt or to be intimated, the thought 
should be expressed in the indicative mode, leaving out or 
omitting the signs which indicate the subjunctive mode, and 
substituting appropriate words as when, because or as. This 
would secure simplicity and uniformity — two qualities which 
are essential to the perfection of any language. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 95 

Section 4. 

What is the use of the potential mode? 

Ans. — The potential mode is used to express the duty, power 
or necessity of acting or being as indicated by the verb. 

Give examples of verbs in the potential mode. 

Ans. — Lucy can write. You may go. 

What does the word "potential" mean? 

Ans. — It means having power or ability, and this mode is so 
called because it is frequently used to express this meaning. 

How may the potential mode usually be known? 

Ans. — By the use of may, can, must, might, could, would or 
should with any principal verb. 

Give examples of any of these words used with a principal 
verb. 

Ans. — They can perform the work. That is, they have the 
power or ability to perform it. I should go; that is, I am under 
obligations or promise to go. 

What is the use of the imperative mode? 
Ans. — The imperative mode is used to express a command, 
a wish, an entreaty or an exhortation. 

Give examples of verbs used in the imperative mode. 
Ans. — Let us see. Be quiet. Bring me flowers. 

What does the word "imperative" mean? 

Ans. — Imperative means commanding, and this use of the 
verb is called the imperative mode because it is frequently used 
to express a command or an entreaty. 

Note. — A command is given by one in a higher to one in 
a lower position. A request is made between equals. An en- 
treaty is usually made by one in a lower to one in a higher 
station. Exhortation means advice. 

How may the imperative mode usually be known? 
Ans. — By the omission of the subject of the verb. 



96 white's practical 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Willie, be careful. Here the subject you is omitted, 
and is said to be understood. 

Section 5, 

What is the use of the infinitive mode? 

Ans. — The infinitive mode is used to express action or being 
without affirming it. 

Give examples of verbs in the infinitive mode. 
Ans. — To be, to speak, to love. 

What does the word "infinitive" mean? 

Ans. — It means without limit or end, and this use of the 
verb is called the infinitive mode because the action signified 
by the verb is not limited by any connection with a subject. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — To read is a pleasure. To read has no subject, and can- 
not, like other verbs, agree with a subject in number and per- 
son. To read is here used as a noun in the nominative case. 

How may the infinitive mode usually be known? 

Ans. — By having the sign to placed before the verb. 

Note. — This sign is omitted after bid, dare, let, feel, make, 
need, hear, help, and a few other words ; as, Bid him be quiet, 
(to be quiet.) I heard him speak, (to speak.) 

Note. — Infinitives are often used as nouns ; as, I like to read 
Here to read has the same meaning as reading has in the sen- 
tence, "I like reading." 

Infinitives not used as nouns, are adjective or adverbial ele- 
ments, and they depend upon the words which they limit; as, 
He came to see the show. In this sentence to see is an adverbial 
element stating why he came, and depends upon or modifies 
came. 

Name all the parts of speech in the following sentences, and 
tell the number, person, tense, voice and mode of the verbs : 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 97 

1. James is writing a letter. 

2. Donald ran toward his own home. 

3. Lucy may go to the city tomorrow. 

4. The President has issued his proclamation. 

5. Ira had solved the problem at home. 

6. The train will have started by 10 o'clock. 

7. You must study diligently at home and at school. 

8. Pupils should improve every moment of time. 

9. The doctor should have told you about it. 

10. Harold could not understand the explanation. 

11. I might have gone home in the morning. 

12. It is a pleasure to teach obedient pupils. 

13. Henrietta loves to read " Milton's Poems." 

14. Let me see your answer to the last problem. 

15. I love to look at a scene like this, 

Of wild and careless play ; 
And persuade myself that I am not old, 

And my locks are not yet gray ; 
For it stirs the blood in an old man's heart, 

And makes his pulses fly, 
To catch the thrill of a happy voice, 

And the sight of a pleasant eye. — N. P. Willis. 

Forms of the Verb. 

Verbs have different forms, and these forms are used for 
special purposes. They are : The emphasis form, the pro- 
gressive form, and the solemn form. 

The emphasis form of a verb is used to intensify the mean- 
ing ; as, Men do commit sin. 

The progressive form is used to denote continuation of the 
action expressed by the verb ; as, The sun is shining. 



9 8 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



The solemn form is used in the Bible and in religious wor- 
ship ; as, Thou art God, and Thou knowest all things. 

Sentences Illustrated by Diagrams Below : 
i. The engineer stopped the train, which ended our journey. 

2. He was as good as he was indulgent. 

3. Where there is so much smoke, there must be fire. 

4. Silver is heavier than aluminum. 

5. When he has read the book he should then recite it. 

6. I shall return the music as soon as I have learned it. 

7. He became so sick that he returned home. 

8. I remember part of it, but I do not remember the entire 
sentence. 



^&*3^ 



(I) 



(2) 



(3) 



J 



Hjl a r#fun<c£cC jt&c*& j\ t£r 




a) 







fa) ~jST \fjt. 




GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. t 99 

The first diagram illustrates the use of an entire proposition 
as the antecedent of a relative pronoun. It was not the train, 
not the engineer, but the engineer s stopping the train that 
ended the journey. 

In the second sentence the first word as modifies the ad- 
jective good, and is itself modified by the subordinate proposi- 
tion. The second as modifies the adjective indulgent. 

The adverb there in the third sentence is modified by the 
subordinate proposition, and where modifies the verb is. 

In the fourth sentence heavier is modified by the sub- 
ordinate proposition. The word than is here used as a con- 
junctive adverb and modifies both adjective predicates. 

Then in the fifth sentence modifies should recite and is 
itself modified by the subordinate proposition. 

In the sixth sentence the first word as modifies soon, and 
is modified by the subordinate proposition. The second as 
modifies have learned. 

The word so in the seventh sentence modifies sick, and is 
itself modified by the subordinate proposition. That here has 
the force of a conjunctive adverb. 

The eighth diagram illustrates the arrangement of a com- 
pound sentence. The coordinate connective is placed on an in- 
termediate horizontal line. 



Sentences Illustrated by Diagrams Below : 

i. They sank the vessel, — a dangerous experiment. 

2. Both Vice Presidents, Simpson and Watson, resigned. 

3. John enlisted as major, but returned as captain. 

4. They elected Harold chairman, and William critic. 

LofC. 



IOO 



WHITK S PRACTICAL 



V^z&y A SQsruk /tyc^Sfc^ 



U) 



UcQjL L/re. 



FESCct&rLfe 







0/ 



>?VL>cL 




60 **y- 



rf&tv 



^3/ (3) (4 , 



Ql§ I?*tLcvm&^L / CoJxCcl4^l\ 




Ob*va£. 



sfodtccvm 



CsUUl 



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In the first sentence, the word experiment is in apposition 
with the entire sentence, and is enclosed by itself. 

The second diagram shows the arrangement of two nouns 
in apposition with the subject of the sentence. 

The third sentence is a peculiar one. The word as is often 
used as a sign of apposition, and has no further use in the sen- 
tence. Major and Captain are both in apposition with the 
subject John. 

The fourth sentence illustrates the use of a verb followed by 
two objects, one denoting the rank, office or position of the in- 
dividual named. In all such cases the noun denoting rank or 
office is in apposition with the other noun. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. IOI 

LESSON XLII. 

'Principal Parts of Verbs. 
Section 1. 

What is meant by the "principal parts" of a verb? 

Arts. — By principal parts of a verb we mean the form of the 
verb in three tenses as follows : the present tense, indicative 
mode; the past tense, indicative mode; and the past participle, 
indicative mode. 

Give examples of principal parts of verbs. 
Ans. — Present tense, work; Past tense, worked; Past parti- 
ciple, worked. 

Note.- — When the verb is used in a sentence, the above facts 
are made clear ; as, I work. Here the verb is in present tense. 
In the sentence, / worked, the verb is in past tense. The past 
tense form and the past participle form of regular verbs are 
always the same. 

What is a regular verb ? 

Ans. — A regular verb is one that forms its past tense and 
past participle form of the verb by adding d or ed to the present 
tense ; as, love, loved ; walk, walked. 

What is an irregular verb ? 

Ans. — An irregular verb is one that does not form its past 
tense and past participle form of the verb by adding d or ed 
to the present tense ; as, see, saw ; write, wrote ; run, ran. 

Observation. 

Eminent speakers and writers favor the use of the regular, 
in preference to the irregular form of verbs which have two 
forms for the past tense or past participle. 



102 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



Give examples of verbs which have two forms for the past 
tense. 

Ans. — Learn, learnt; or, learn, learned; dream, dreamt; or, 
dream, dreamed. 

Some verbs are used only for the purpose of helping other 
verbs. They are called auxiliary or helping verbs. These 
auxiliary verbs have only two tense forms, as shown by the 
following, ( See dictionary) 



PRESENT TENSE. 
May, 
Can, 
Will, 
Shall. 



PAST TENSE. 
Might, 
Could, 
Would, 
Should. 



These helping verbs are used merely to show relations of 
tense and mode, and may be used with any principal verb ; as, 
I can write; He will go. A few auxiliary verbs, as be, do, 
have and will may be used as principal verbs ; as, Be careful ; 
I have a book ; He willed the house and lot to his son. 



Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs. 
Section 2. 

Note. — All verbs in the following list marked x have both 
forms, regular and irregular. 



PRESENT. 


PAST. 


PAST PARTI CIP] 


Am, (Be) 
Abide, 


was, 
abode, 


been, 
abode. 


Arise, 


arose, 


arisen. 


Bear (to bring 

forth) 
Bear (to carry) 
Beat, 


bore, bare, 

bore, 
beat, 


born. 

borne, 
beaten. 


Bend, 


bent, x. 


bent, x. 


Bet, 


bet, x. 


bet, k. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 



IO3 



PRESENT. 


PAST. 


PAST PARTICIPIX 


Behold, 


beheld, 


beheld. 


Bid, 


bid, bade, 


bid, bidden. 


Buy, 
Bite, 


bought, 
bit, 


bought, 
bitten, bit. 


Bleed, 


bled, 


bled, 


Burst, 


burst, 


burst. 


Blow, 


blew, 


blown. 


Build, 


built, x. 


built, x. 


Break, 


broke, brake, 


broken, broke. 


Burn, 


burnt, x. 


burnt, x. 


Bless, 


blest, x. 


blest, x. 


Breed, 


bred, 


bred. 


Bring, 


brought, 


brought. 


Cast, 


cast, 


cast. 


Cut, 


cut, 


cut. 


Catch, 
Crow, 


caught, 
crew, x. 


caught, 
crowed. 


Chide, 


chid, 


chidden, chid. 


Creep, 
Choose, 


crept, 
chose, 


crept, 
chosen. 


Cost, 


cost, 


cost. 


Cleave (to adhere) 


clave, x. 


cleaved. 


Come, 


came, 


come. 


Cleave (to split) 


cleft, clove, 


cloven, x. 


Cling, 
Clothe, 


clung, 
clad, x. 


clung, 
clad, x. 


Dare, 


durst, x. 


dared. 


Drive, 


drove, 


driven. 


Deal, 


dealt, x. 


dealt, x. 


Dwell, 


dwelt, x. 


dwelt, x. 


Dig, 
Dress, 


dug, x. 
drest, x. 


dug, x. 
drest, x. 


Do, 


did, 


done. 


Dream, 


dreamt, x. 


dreamt, x. 


Drink, 


drank, 


drank, drunk. 


Draw, 


drew, 


drawn. 



io4 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



PRESENT. 

Eat, 
Fall, 
Freeze, 
Feed, 

Fly, 

Feel, 

Fling, 

Fight, 

Flee, 

Find, 

Forsake, 

Forget, 

Forbear, 



PAST. 

ate, 

fell, 

froze, 

fed, 

flew, 

felt, 

flung, 

fought, 

fled, 

found, 

forsook, 

forgot, 

forbore, 



PAST PARTICIPLE- 

eaten. 

fallen. 

frozen. 

fed. 

flown. 

felt. 

flung. 

fought. 

fled. 

found. 

forsaken. 

forgotten, forgot. 

forborne. 



Get, 


got, 


gotten, got. 


Grow, 


grew, 


grown. 


Give, 


gave, 


given. 


Grind, 


ground, 


ground. 


Gild, 


gilt, x. 


gilt, x. 


Grave, 


graved, 


graven, x. 


Gird, 


girt, x. 


girt, x. 


Go, 


went, 


gone. 


Hang, 


(intransitive) hung, 


hung, ( intransitive ) 


Hang, 


( transitive ) hanged, 


hanged, ( transitive ) 


Hurt, 


hurt, 


hurt. 


Have, 


had, 


had. 


Hold, 


held, 


hold, holden. 


Heave, 


hove, x. 


hove, x. 


Hit, 


hit, 


hit. 


Hew, 


hewed, 


hewn, x. 


Hide, 


hid, 


hidden, hid. 


Hear, 


heard, 


heard. 



Knit, 
Keep, 
Kneel, 
Know, 



knit, x. 
kept, 
knelt, 
knew, 



knit, x. 
kept, 
knelt, 
known. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 



105 



PRESENT. 


PAST. 


PAST PARTICIPLE. 


Load, 


loaded, 


loaded, laden. 


Lay, 


laid, 


laid. 


Lose, 


lost, 


lost. 


Lead, 


led, 


led. 


Light, 


lit, x. 


lit, x. 


Lean, 


leant, x. 


leant, x. 


Lie, (to recline) 


lay, 


lain. 


Leap, 


leapt, x. 


leapt, x. 


Let, 


let, 


let. 


Learn, 


learnt, x. 


learnt, x. 


Lend, 


lent, 


lent. 


Leave, 


left, 


left. 


Make, 


made, 


made. 


.Alow, 


mowed, 


mowed, mown. 


Mean, 


meant, 


meant. 


Meet, 


met, 


met. 


Put, 


put, 


put. 


Pay, 


paid, 


paid. 


Plead, 


pled, plead, x. 


plead, pled, x. 


Pen, 


pent, x. 


pent. 


Quit, 


quit, x. 


quit, x. 


Run, 


ran, 


run. 


Rap, 


rapped, 


rapped. 


Rive, 


rived, 


riven. 


Read, 


read, 


read. 


Rise, 


rose, 


risen. 


Reave, 


reft, 


reft. 


Ring, 


rang, rung, 


rung. 


Rend, 


rent, 


rent. 


Ride, 


rode, 


ridden, rode. 


Saw, 


sawed, 


sawn, x. 


Set, 


set, 


set. 


Say, 


said, 


said. 


Seek, 


sought, 


sought. 


See, 


saw, 


seen. 


Stand, 


stood, 


stood. 


Shake, 


shook. 


shaken. 



io6 



WHITE'S PRACTICAL 



PRESENT. 


PAST. 


PAST PARTICIPLE. 


Sit, . 


sat, 


sat. 


Shape, 


shaped, 


shapen, x. 


Shut, 


shut, 


shut. 


Shave, 


shaved, 


shaven, x. 


Shrink, 


shrank, shrunk, 


shrunken, shrank, 


Shear, 


shore, x. 


shorn, x. 


Shred, 


shred, 


shred. 


Shed, 


shed, 


shed. 


Shine, 


shone, x. 


shone, x. 


Show, 


showed, 


shown. 


Shoe, 


shod, 


shod. 


Shoot, 


shot, 


shot. 


Sing, 


sang, sung, 


sung. 


Speak, 


spoke, 


spoken. 


Sink, 


sank, sunk, 


sunk. 


Smite, 


smote, 


smitten. 


Sow, 


sowed, 


sown, x. 


Smell, 


smelt, x. 


smelt, x. 


Slay, 


slew, 


slain. 


Slit, 


slit, 


slit. 


Sleep, 


slept, 


slept. 


Sling, 


slung, 


slung. 


Slink, 


slunk, 


slunk. 


Speak, 


spoke, 


spoken. 


Stay, 


staid, x. 


staid, x. 


Speed, 


sped, 


sped. 


Spoil, 


spoilt, x. 


spoilt, x. 


Spell, 


spelt, x. 


spelt, x. 


Spring, 


sprang, sprung, 


sprung, 


Spend, 


spent, 


spent. 


Spread, 


spread, 


spread. 


Spill, 


spilt, x. 


spilt, x. 


Split, 


split, 


split. 


Spit, 


spit, spat, 


spitten, spit. 


Spin, 


spun, 


spun. 


Stave, 


stove, x. 


stove, x. 


Strike, 


struck, 


stricken, struck. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 



I07 



PRESENT. 


PAST. 


PAST PARTICIPLE- 


Steal, 


stole, 


stolen. 


Sting, 
Stick, 


stung, 
stuck, 


stung, 
stuck. 


String, 
Strive, 


strung, 
strove. 


strung, 
striven. 


Stride, 


strode, 


stridden. 


Swing, 
Strow, 


swung, 
strowed, 


swung. 
strown, x. 


Swim, 


swam, swum, 


swum. 


Swell, 


swelled, 


swollen, x. 


Swear, 


swore, 


sworn. 


vSweep, 
Take, 


swept, 
took, 


swept, 
taken. 


Tread, 


trod, 


trodden, trod. 


Teach, 

Thrust, 


taught, 
thrust, 


taught, 
thrust. 


Tear, 


tore, 


torn. 


Throw, 


threw r , 


thrown. 


Tell. 


told, 


told. 


Thrive, 


throve, x. 


thriven, x. 


Think, 


thought. 


thought. 


Write, 


wrote, 


written. 


Wax, 


waxed, 


waxen, x. 


Wring, 
Wear, 


wrung, 
wore, 


wrung, 
worn. 


Work, 


wrought, x. 


wrought, x. 


Weave, 


wove, x. 


woven. 


Wind, 


wound, 


wound. 


Weep, 


wept, 


wept. 


Win, 


won, 


won. 


Wake, 


woke, x. 


woke, x. 


Whet, 


whet, x. 


whet, x. 


Wed, 


wed, x. 


wed, x. 


Wet, 


wet, x. 


wet, x. 



108 WHITE'S PRACTICAL 

LESSON XLIII. 

Synopsis of Verbs. 

Define' synopsis of verbs. 

Ans. — Synopsis is a change in the form of the verb, in first 
person and singular number, to express the tense required. 

What does the word "synopsis" mean? 

Ans. — It means a seeing all together ; a view of all the lead- 
ing parts that make up anything. 

In what modes and tenses is synopsis applied to verbs ? 
Ans. — In all the modes and tenses. 

How many tenses has the indicative mode ? 
Ans. — Six: Present, Present Perfect, Past, Past Perfect, 
Future, and Future Perfect. 

Give a synopsis of the verb "To Be" in the indicative mode. 

Ans.— 

Present Tense, I am. 

Present Perfect Tense, I have been. 

Past Tense, I was. 

Past Perfect Tense, I had been. 

Future Tense, I shall be. 

Future Perfect Tense, I shall have been. 



How many tenses has the subjunctive mode? 
Ans. — The subjunctive mode has three tenses: Present, 
Past, and Past Perfect. 

Give a synopsis of "To Be" in the subjunctive mode. 

Ans. — 
Present Tense, If I be. 

Past Tense, If I were. 

Past Perfect Tense, If I had been. 



(.RAM MAR AND COMPOSITION. IO9 

How many tenses are used in the potential mode ? 
Ans. — Four : Present, Present Perfect, Past, and Past 
Perfect. 

Give a synopsis of "To Be" in the potential mode. 
Ans. — 
Present Tense, I may, can or must be. 

Present Perfect Tense, I may, can or must have been. 

Past Tense, I might, could, would or should 

be. 
Past Perfect Tense, I might, could, would or should 

have been. 



How many tenses are used in the imperative mode ? 
Ans. — The Present Tense only is used in the imperative 
mode. 

Give a synopsis of "To Be" in the imperative mode. 
Ans. — 
Present Tense, Be thou, or be you. 



How many tenses has the infinitive mode? 
Ans. — The infinitive mode has two tenses : Present and 
Present Perfect. 

Give a synopsis of "To Be" in the infinitive mode. 

Ans. — 
Present Tense, To be. 

Present Perfect. To have been. 

NoTE. — Observe that synopsis is given in first person and 
singular number only. 



Write a complete synopsis of the following verbs : Recite, 
play, hope, purchase, run, go, write, see, encamp. 



no 



WHITE) S PRACTICAL 



LESSON XMV. 

Conjugation of Verbs. 
Section 1. 

What is conjugation of verbs? 

Ans. — Conjugation is a complete statement of the changes 
made in a verb to express, in regular order, its voice, mode, 
tense, person and number. 

What modes are used in conjugation? 
Ans. — All the modes. 

Note. — Observe the parallel conjugation of the verb "To 
Be" in the indicative and potential modes, 



indicative mode. 

singular. 
i. I am, 

2. Thou art, 
You are, 

3. He is ; 



POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

singular. 

1. I may, can or must be, 

2. Thou mayst, canst or must 

be, 
You may, can or must be, 

3. He may, can or must be ; 





PLURAL. 




PLURAL. 


1. 


We are, 


1. 


We may, can or must be, 


2. 


You are, 


2. 


You may, can or must be, 


3- 


They are. 


3- 


They may, can or 4 must be. 

> 




Present Perfect Tense. 




SINGULAR. 




SINGULAR. 


I. 


I have been, 


1. 


I may, can or must have been, 


2. 


Thou hast been, 


2. 


Thou mayst, canst or must 




You have been, 




have been, 
You may, can or must have 
been, 


3- 


He has been-; 


3. 


He may, can or must have 
been ; 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 
PLURAL. PLURAL. 



Ill 



I. 

2. 

3- 


We have been, 
You have been, 
They have been. 

SINGULAR. 


1. 
2. 

3- 

Past Te 


We may, can or 

been, 
You may, can or 

been, 
They may, can or 

been. 

;NSE. 

SINGULAR. 


must have 
must have 
must have 


I. 
2. 

3- 


I was, 

Thou wast, 
You were, 
He was ; 

PLURAL. 


1.. 
2. 
3. 


I might (could, 

should) be, 
Thou mightst be, 
You might be, 
He might be ; 

PLURAL. 


would or 


1. 

2. 

3- 


We were, 
You w r ere, 
They were. 


1. 
2. 

3- 


We might be, 
You might be, 
They might be. 





Past Perfect Tense. 





SINGULAR. 




SINGULAR. 


I. 


I had been, 


1. 


I might have been, 


2. 


Thou hadst been, 


2. 


Thou mightst have been, 




You had been, 




You might have been, 


3. 


He had been ; 


3. 


He might have been ; 




PLURAL. 




PLURAL. 


I. 


We had been, 


1. 


We might have been, 


2. 


You had been, 


2. 


You might have been, 


3- 


They had been. 


3- 


They might have been. 



112 



SINGULAR. 

1. I shall be, 

2. Thou wilt be, 
You will be, 

3. He will be ; 

PLURAL. 

1. We shall be, 

2. You will be, 

3. They will be. 



1. 
2. 

3- 



1. 
2. 

3- 



1. 
2. 

3- 



white: s practical 
Future Tense. 



(The potential mode has no Fu- 
ture Tense.) 



Future; Perfect Tense. 



singular. 
I shall have been, 
Thou wilt have been, 
You will have been, 
He will have been; 

PLURAL. 

We shall have been, 
You will have been, 
They will have been. 



(The potential mode has no Fu- 
ture Perfect Tense.) 



Section 2. 



SINGULAR. 

If I be, 
If thou be, 
If you be, 
If he be ; 



Subjunctive Mode. 
Present Tense. 

PLURAL. 

1. If we be, 

2. If you be. 

3. If they be. 



\ 



grammar and composition. 
Past Tense. 



113 



SINGULAR. 

1. If I were. 

2. If thou wert, 
If you were, 

^. If he w r ere ; 



plural. 

1. If we were, 

2. If you were, 

3. If they were. 
Past Perfect Tense. 



SINGULAR. 

1. If I had been, 

2. If thou hadst been, 
If you had been, 

3. If he had been ; 



plural. 

1. If we had been, 

2. If you had been, 



3. If they had been. 

Infinitive Mode. 

Present Tense, To be. 

Present Perfect, To have been. 

Imperative Mode. 
Singular, Be, be thou or you. 
Plural, Be, be ye or you. 

LESSON LXV. 
Section 1. 

Conjugation of "To Advise," Active Voice, 
indicative mode. potential mode. 

Present Tense. 

SINGULAR. 



SINGULAR. 

1. I advise, 

2. Thou advisest, 
You advise, 

3. He advises ; 



1. I may advise, 

2. Thou may st advise, 
You may advise, 

3. He may advise; 



H4 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



PLURAL. 

1. We advise, 

2. You advise, 

3. They advise. 



PLURAL. 



i. We may advise, 

2. You may advise, 

3. They may advise. 



Present Perfect Tense. 

SINGULAR. SINGULAR. 



i. I have advised, 

2. Thou hast advised, 
You have advised, 

3. He has advised ; 

plural. 

1. We have advised, 

2. You have advised, 

3. They have advised. 



1. I may have advised, 

2. Thou mayst have advised, 
You may have advised, 

3. He may have advised ; 

plural. 

1. We may have advised, 

2. You may have advised, 

3. They may have advised. 







Past Tense. 




SINGULAR. 




singular. 


I. 

2. 
3- 


I advised, 
Thou advisedst, 
You advised, 
He advised ; 


1. 
2. 

3- 


I might advise, 
- Thou mightst advise, 
You might advise, 
He might advise ; 




PLURAL. 




PLURAL. 


I. 
2. 

3- 


We advised, 
You advised, 
They advised. 


1. 
2. 

3- 


We might advise, 
You might advise, 
They might advise. 



grammar and composition. 115 

Past Perfect Tense, 
singular. singular. 

1. I had advised, I. I might have advised, 

2. Thou hadst advised, 2. Thou mightst have advised, 
You had advised, You might have advised, 

3. He had advised; 3. He might have advised; 

PLURAL. PLURAL. 

1. We had advised, 1. We might have advised, 

2. You had advised, 2. You might have advised, 

3. They had advised. 3. They might have advised. 

. Future Tense. 



singular. 



1. I shall advise, 

2. Thou wilt advise, 
You will advise, 

3. He will advise; 



(The potential mode has no Fu- 
ture Tense.) 



plural. *%0l 

1. We shall advise, 

2. You will advise, 

3. They will advise. 

Future Perfect Tense. 
singular. 

1. I shall have advised, 

2. Thou wilt have ad- (The potential mode has no Fu- 

vised, ture Perfect Tense.) 

You will have advised, 

3. He will have advised ; 



n6 



WHITE vS PRACTICAL 



PLURAL. 

1. We shall have advised, 

2. You will have advised, 

3. They will have ad- 

vised, 



SINGULAR. 

1. If I advise, 

2. If thou advise, 
If you advise, 

3. If he advise; 



SINGULAR. 

1. If I advised, 

2. If thou advised, 
If you advised, 

3. If he advised; 



SINGULAR. 



Section 2. 

Subjunctive Mode. 

Present Tense. 

plural. 

1. If we advise, 

2. If you advise, 

3. If they advise. 
Past Tense. 

PLURAL. 

i. If we advised, 

2. If you advised, 

3. If they advised. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

plural. 



1. If I had advised, 

2. If thou hadst advised, 
If you had advised, 

3. If he had advised ; 



1. If we had advised, 

2. If you had advised, 

3. If they had advised. 



grammar and composition. 

Infinitive Mode. 

Present, To advise. 

Present Perfect, To have advised. 

Imperative Mode. 

Singular, Advise, do thou or you advise. 
Plural, Advise, do ye or you advise. 

Section 3. 

Conjugation of "To Advise/' Passive Voice, 
indicative mode. potential mode. 

Present Tense. 



ii/ 





SINGULAR. 




singular. 


I. 

2. 

3- 


I am advised, 
Thou art advised, 
You are advised, 
He is advised; 


I. 

2. 

3- 


I may be advised, 
Thou mayst be advised, 
You may be advised^, 
He may be advised ; 




plural. 




plural. 


i. 

2. 

3- 


We are advised, 
You are advised, 
They are advised. 


i. 

2. 

3- 


We may be advised, 
You may be advised, 
They may be advised. 




Present Perfect Tense. 




SINGULAR. 




plural. 



i. I have been advised, 

2. Thou hast been ad- 

vised, 
You have been advised. 

3. He has been advised ; 



1. I may have been advised, 

2. Thou mayst have been ad- 

vised. 
You may have been advised, 

3. He may have been advised ; 



ne 



white: s practical, 



PLURAL- 

i. We have been advised, i. 

2. You have been advised. 2. 

3. They have been ad- 3. 

vised. 



PLURAL. 



We may have been advised, 
You may have been advised. 
They may have been advised. 



Past Tense. 



singular. 

1. I was advised, 

2. Thou wast advised, 
You were advised, 

3. He was advised; 

PLURAL. 

1. We were advised, 

2. You were advised, 

3. They were advised. 



singular. 



1. I might be advised, 

2. Thou mightst be advised, 
You might be advised, 

3. He might be advised ; 

PLURAL. 

1. We might be advised, 

2. You might be advised, 

3. They might be advised. 



Past Perfect Tense. 



singular. 

1. I had been advised, 

2. Thou hadst been ad- 

vised, 
You had been advised, 

3. He had been advised ; 



PLURAL. 

1. I might have been advised, 

2. Thou mightst have been ad- 

vised, 
You might have been ad- 
vised. 

3. He might have been advised; 





PLURAL. 


PLURAL. 


I. 


We had been advised, 


1. We might have been advised, 


2. 


You had been advised, 


2. You might have been ad- 
vised. 


3. 


They had been ad- 


3. They might have been ad- 




vised. 


vised. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 19 

Future Tense, 
singular. 

i. I shall be advised, 

2. Thou wilt be advised, (The Potential Mode has no Fu- 
You will be advised, ture Tense.) 

3. He will be advised ; 

PLURAL. 

1. We shall be advised, 

2. You will be advised, 

3. They will be advised. 

Future Perfect Tense. 
singular. 

1. I shall have been ad- 

vised, 

2. Thou wilt have been (The Potential Mode has no Fu- 

advised, ture Perfect Tense.) 

You will have been 
advised, 

3. He will have been ad- 

vised ; 

PLURAL. 

i. We shall have been 
advised, 

2. You will have been 

advised, 

3. They, will have been 

advised. 



[20 



I. 

2. 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 
Section 4. 

Subjunctive: Mode. 
Present Tense. 



singular. 

If I be advised, 
If thou be advised 
If you be advised, 
If he be advised ; 



SINGULAR. 



plural. 

i. If we be advised, 

2. If you be advised, 

3. If they be advised. 
Past Tense. 

PLURAL. 



If I were advised, 
If thou wert advised, 
If you were advised, 
If he were advised; 



1. If we were advised, 

2. If you were advised, 



3. If they were advised. 
Past Perfect Tense. 



singular. 



PLURAL. 



i. If I had been advised, 

2. If thou hadst been ad- 

vised, 
If you had been ad- 
vised, 

3. If he had been ad- 

vised ; 



1. If we had been advised, 

2. If you had been advised, 



3. If they had been advised. 



Infinitive Mode. 

Present, To be advised. 

Present Perfect, To have been advised. 



grammar and composition. 121 

Imperative Mode. 

Singular. Be advised, or be thou or you advised. 
Plural, Be advised, or be ye or you advised. 

Xote. — Teachers should select a number of verbs and in- 
sist upon a complete synopsis and conjugation of each. 

How is the passive voice formed? 

Ans. — The passive voice is formed by adding the past par- 
ticiple of any principal verb to some form of the verb to be. 

Give examples of the formation of passive voice. 

Ans. — The book was soiled. Here soiled is the past par- 
ticiple of the verb soil, and it is added to the verb was, which 
is a form of the verb to be. 

What is meant by a principal verb ? 

Ans. — It means the leading word in the verb; that part of 
the verb which really expresses the action. 

Give examples of principal verbs. 

Ans. — I shall have been advised. Here advised is the prin- 
cipal verb, and the other words are auxiliary verbs. 

Name some auxiliary verbs. 

Ans. — Be, do, have, shall, will, may, can. must. 

Observations. 

Ought, must, quoth and beware are defective verbs, and do 
not change their form to denote different tenses. 

Ought Towed as a duty), always precedes a verb in the in- 
finitive mode, and is in the present or present perfect tense. 
In the present tense form, the infinitive refers to future, as 
well as, to present time; as. He ought to go tomorrow. He 
ought to go now. Ought to go has precisely the same meaning 

9 



122 



WHITES PRACTICAL 



and force as should go, should (to) go. In parsing similar ex- 
pressions, say they are equivalent to should go, and then give 
the proper mode, tense, person and number. 

Must denotes compulsion or necessity, and is used only in 
the present and present perfect tenses in the potential mode. 

Beware (be wary) is generally used in the imperative and 
infinitive modes. It is used sometimes, however, in the future 
tense, indicative mode ; and also in the past tense, potential 
mode. 



Quoth is used only in the past tense, indicative mode, 
obsolete except in comic style. 



It is 



Note. — Do not hasten over conjugation. See that pupils 
understand it thoroughly before passing it by. 



LESSON XLVI. 

Order of Parsing V^rbs. 

Section 1. 

i. Regular or Irregular, 

2. Give Principal Parts, 

3. Copulative, Transitive or Intransitive, 

4. If Transitive, give Voice, 

5. Tense, 

6. Mode, 

7. Person and Number, 

8. Name its Subject. (If Infinitive, give its use.) 

Study the following verbs by giving principal parts, synopsis 
and conjugation of each, remembering that lay is a transitive 
verb, and means to place; that lie is an intransitive verb, and 
means to recline; that set is a transitive verb, and mean to 
place; that sit is an intransitive verb and means to repose on 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. I23 

a scat. Come, do, see, go, sing, sit, set, lie, lay, teach, lost, 
make, know, give, find, bring, buy, rise, raise. 

Section 2. 

Correct the following sentences and give reasons for the 
changes you make : 

r. I seen him at the circus. 

2. I have not saw him today. 

3. Has Lucy went to school yet? 

4. Uncle Ned laid down to rest. 

5. The invalid lays in bed all day. 

6. Set down on the sofa, and lie your hat on the bed. 

7. They all come home yesterday. 

8. We run down to meet them. 

9. The bell rung early in the morning. 

10. I have lain your pencil on the table. 

11. The farmer sat the hen on Monday. 

12. I done all the work on that example myself. 

13. The glass had broke and had fell to the ground. 

14. John brung me some nice apples today. 

15. Miss Fresco sat by the piano and sung while she played. 

Subjects for Composition. 

A Home in the Country. 
Value of Time. 
Teaching as a Profession. 

Change the following poetry to prose. Parse the verbs be- 
fore and after the change : 

A weaver sat by the side of his loom, 

A-flinging his shuttle fast; 
And a thread that would wear till the hour of doom 

Was added at everv cast. 



124 WHITES PRACTICAL 

His warp had been by the angels spun, 

And his weft was bright and new 
Like threads which the morning upbraids from the sun, 

All jeweled over with dew. 

And fresh-lipped, bright-eyed, beautiful flowers 

In the rich, soft web were bedded ; 
And blithe to the weaver sped onward the hours : 

Not yet were Time's feet leaded ! — Emily Judson. 

LESSON XLVII. 

The Adjective Resumed. 

What is an adjective? 

Name the two great classes of adjectives. 

Define each class and give examples. 

What is comparison ? 

How many degrees of comparison are there ? 

Tell the form and use of each degree of comparison. 

What kind of adjectives admit of comparison? 

What do adjectives modify? 

What kind of elements are adjectives in analysis? 

Give examples of adjectives used as nouns. 

Into what classes may descriptive adjectives be divided? 
Ans. — Into three classes : Common, Proper and Verbal. 

What is a common descriptive adjective? 
Ans. — It is an ordinary word used to describe a noun or 
pronoun. 

Give examples of common descriptive adjectives. 
Ans. — Good books ; szveet apples ; red roses. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 125 

What is a proper adjective? 

Ans. — A proper adjective is an adjective that is derived 
from a proper noun. 

Give examples of proper adjectives. 

Ans. — American soldiers; Michigan lumber. 

Note. — A proper adjective, like a proper noun, should begin 
with a capital letter. 

What is a verbal adjective? 

Ans. — A verbal adjective is the verbal form of a word placed 
before a noun to modify its meaning. 

Give examples of verbal adjectives. 
Ans, — The rising sun ; a plozved field. 

Note. — Descriptive adjectives are often used in place of the 
nouns which they w^ould modify if those nouns were supplied ; 
as. The good are happy; The idle are vicious. Adjectives thus 
used have number, person, gender and case, and should be 
parsed as adjectives used as nouns. 



LESSON XLVIII. 

Classes of Definitive Adjectives. 

Into what classes may definitive adjectives be divided? 
Ans. — Into three classes : Articles, Numerals and Pro- 
nominals. 

How 7 many and what are the articles ? 

Ans. — There are two articles : Definite and Indefinite. 

What word is called the definite article, and why ? 

Ans. — The is called the definite article because it definitely 
points out the noun which it limits ; as, the mountain ; the 
church on the corner. 



126 WHITES PRACTICAL 

What word is called the indefinite article? 

Ans. — A or an (dififerent forms of the same word) is called 
the indefinite article because it limits in an indefinite or general 
way. 

Explain the use of a and an. 

Ans. — A is used before consonant sounds ; as, a house ; a 
man. An is used before a vowel sound ; as, an apple ; an owl. 

What are numeral adjectives? 

Ans. — Numeral adjectives are those which express number, 
order or position ; as, ten, tenth, tenfold. 

How many classes of numeral adjectives are there? 
Ans. — There are three classes : Cardinals, Ordinals and 
Multiples. 

Define each class. 
Ans. — 

Cardinals denote how many ; as, five, ten, fifty. 

Ordinals denote what order or position ; as, fifth, tenth, 
fiftieth. 

Multiples denote what fold ; as, tenfold, an hundred fold. 

Note. — Fold means the number of times repeated. Tenfold 
means repeated ten times. 

Observations. 

In the sentence, "The house was burned," the house means 
some particular house. In the sentence, "A house was burned, " 
the meaning is, that some house, no particular one, was burned. 

When the is used before a descriptive adjective, the ad- 
jective takes the use of a noun ; as, The rich are not always 
happy. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 127 

The has the same use as the word that; as The man whom 
you saw. That man whom you saw. 

A noun used without an article is used in its widest sense ; 
as, Man is mortal ; Every man is mortal, or All men are mortal. 



LESSON XLIX. 

Pronominal Adjectives. 
Section 1. 

What are pronominal adjectives? 

Ans. — Pronominal adjectives are such definitives as may be 
used as nouns ; as, This is mine ; Bach fought bravely. 

How many and what are the classes of pronominal ad- 
jectives? 

Ans. — There are three classes of pronominals : Demonstrat- 
ives, Distributives and Indefinites. 

Define each class. 

Ans. — Demonstratives refer to definite objects. They are: 
this (plural these), that (plural those), both, former, latter, 
yon, same and yonder. 

Xote. — When this and that, or these and those are used 
in the same sentence to distinguish two or more things prev- 
iously mentioned, this and these refer to the nearer or closer 
ones, and that and those, to the ones farther away; as, This 
tree is older than that. Good speakers and good writers are 
equally necessary; these (good writers) instruct through the 
eye, and those (good speakers), through the ear. 

Distributive Adjectives. 

Distributives refer to separate persons or things. There are 
four distributives : Each, either, neither and every. 



128 white's practical 

Note. — To distribute means to share out, to deal with sepa- 
rately. Distributives are used to denote that every one of a 
number of persons or objects is taken singly; as, Each boy 
received his share. Every witness was closely questioned. 

Note. — Bach and every have the same use, but a distinguish- 
ing feature of each is its frequent use in connection with other; 
as, 'Tis said they eat each other. 

Because distributives represent objects taken singly, they 
require the singular form of verbs when used as nouns ; as, 
Bach deserves a reward. Either is a good method. 

Either means one of two only; as, Either is competent. 
Neither means not one of two, or not either one of two only ; 
as. Neither is competent. 

Indefinite Adjectives. 

Indefinites refer to objects in a general way without refer- 
ence to any one in particular. 

The word indefinite means not certain, not distinctly pointed 
out ; as, Any man should know better. Some plants are whole- 
some while others are poisonous. 

Name the principal indefinite adjectives. 

Ans. — Few, little, many, all, any, much, no, none, certain, 
one, another, own, other, divers, enough, several, some, which, 
whichever, sundry, what, whatever. 

Observations. 
Section 2. 

Few and many should be used to express number only ; little 
and much; to express quantity. More is the comparative de- 
gree of both many and much, and therefore, relates to both 
number and- quantity. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 120) 

None means no one, and should be used in the singular 
number only. However, some authors recommend the use of 
none in plural number. 

Certain is sometimes used as a descriptive adjective; as, 
There is certain (undoubted) danger in crossing the river to- 
night. It is a certain fact. 

Own means honestly possessed; as, This is my own hat; 
that is, my honestly possessed hat. 

Divers n:eans several, with the implied modification of differ- 
ence or variety. 

Enough means sufficient; as, The poor fellow has only 
enough money for one more meal. Enough is sometimes used 
as an adverb ; as. He was not quick enough. In the sentence, 
"He ate enough/" enough is a noun. 

Sundry means the same as divers. 

What, whatever, which and zuhichever are indefinites only 
when they precede nouns ; as, Which lesson shall I study. 
Whichever (lesson) you please. 

The compound expressions, each other (used with reference 
to two only), and one another (used with reference to more 
than two), are called reciprocals, because the action signified 
by the one is reflected from each on the other ; as, They love 
each (loves) (the) other. They amuse one another. That is, 
They amuse (each) one (amuses) the other. In such cases, 
each should be parsed as an adjective used as a noun in apposi- 
tion with they. Other should be parsed as an adjective used 
as a noun in the objective case after the transitive verb love. 

In the sentence, "They amuse one another/'o;^ should be 
parsed as an adjective used as a noun in apposition with they. 



[30 WHITES PRACTICAL 

Another should be parsed as an adjective used as a noun in the 
objective case after the verb amuse. 

Subjects for Composition. 

The Grandeur of Self-Sacrifice. 
Ambition in Woman. 
Xecessities of Reformation. 

LESSON L. 

Comparison of Adjectives. 
Section 1. 

(See LESSON XXVI, Section 2.) 

How many kinds of comparison are there? 

Ans. — Two : Increasing and Decreasing comparison. 

Define increasing comparison. 

Ans. — Increasing comparison is a change in the adjective or 
adverb, which expresses a higher or greater degree of quality 
or condition. 

Give examples of increasing comparison. 
Ans. — Sweet, sweeter, sweetest; distant, more distant, most 
distant. 

Define decreasing comparison. 

Ans. — Decreasing comparison is a change in the adjective or 
adverb, which expresses a lower or less degree of quality or 
condition. 

Give examples of decreasing comparison. 
Ans. — Small, smaller, smallest ; distant, less distant, least 
distant. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. I3I 

How are adjectives of one syllable compared? 

Ans. — Adjectives of one syllable are usually compared by 
adding to the positive, r or er to form the comparative, and 
st or est to form the superlative degree. 

Give examples of comparison of adjectives of one syllable. 
Ans. — Cold, colder, coldest; pale, paler, palest. 

Note.— Some adjectives of more than one syllable, ending 
in y or le, are compared like words of one syllable ; as, noble, 
nobler, noblest ; holy, holier, holiest. And some adjectives may 
be compared both ways ; as worthy, worthier, worthiest ; or 
worthy, more worthy, most worthy. 

How are adjectives of more than one syllable compared? 
Ans. — By prefixing to the positive more to form the com- 
parative, and most to form the superlative degree. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Useful, more useful, most useful. 

By decreasing comparison how are adjectives compared? 
Ans. — Sometimes by prefixing to the positive less to form 
the comparative, and least to form the superlative degree. 

Give examples. 

Ans. — Sinful, less sinful, least sinful. 

Note. — Some adjectives of both kinds of comparison are 
compared irregularly; as, good, better, best; ill, worse, worst. 

Some adjectives denote fullness or completeness in meaning, 
and do not properly admit of comparison. The principal of 
these are: square, perfect, circular, chief, true, just, universal, 
extreme and infinite. 



L32 


WHITE S PRACTICAL 
Section 2. 








Diagram of the Adjective 






f Common 
-] Proper - 
L Verbal 
Descriptive 










Articles 


i 


Definite 
Indefinite 


Adjective -< 












Definitive 


Pronominals 
Numerals 


i 


Demonstratives 

Distributives 

Indefinites 

Cardinals 

Ordinals 

Multiples 



Order of Parsing Adjectives. 



i. Descriptive or Definitive. 

2. If Descriptive, compare it. 

3. Name its use as a Modifier. 

XoTE. — Sometimes the words many, but, such and not are 
used before the article a in such a manner that both words 
should be taken together as the adjective; as, Not a boy ap- 
peared. Such a law is not in existence. Many a morning I 
was late at school. 

In the following sentences, change the prepositional phrases 
to adjectives or adverbs, and parse the nouns, pronouns, verbs, 
and adjectives before and after the change: 

1. The prisoners were treated with kindness by their 
captors. 

Surgeons should use their instruments with great care. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 133 

3. The Spanish army retreated from the battle field in haste. 

4. We listened with patience to the narrative. 

5. The woman sews with great care. 

6. Words of kindness are fitly spoken. 
I wish you would not read in such a rapid manner. 
Men of wealth are not always the most useful men. 
The house on First Street was built in haste. 



LESSON LI. 

The Abverb Resumed.— (See LESSON XXVI.) 

What is an adverb? 

What do adverbs modify? 

What are adverbs called in analysis? 

How many kinds of adverbs are there? 

Ans. — Five : Adverbs of Place. Time, Cause, Manner and 
Degree. There are also Interrogative and Conjunctive ad- 
verbs. 

How are adverbs of place distinguished from other adverbs ? 
Ans. — Adverbs of place tell where. 

Name the principal adverbs of place. 

Ans. — Here, there, above, below, up, down, hither, thither, 
far, nowhere, somewhere, thence, (from that place), back, 
away, forth, aloof, abroad, backwards, aloft, ashore, forward, 
first, secondly, hence, (from this place). 

NoTE. — There, now) yes and no are often used as intro- 
ductory or responsive words, and are called expletives; as 
There was no night there ; Now, this is the cause of it all. 

How are adverbs of time distinguished from other adverbs ? 
Ans. — Adverbs of time tell when, how often, how long. 



134 WHITE'S PRACTICAL 

Name the principal adverbs of time. 

Ans. — Again, always, early, frequently, ever, never, forever, 
lately, hereafter, now, immediately, often, hitherto, soon, sel- 
dom, then, sometimes. 

Note. — Such words as yesterday, to-day, to-night and to- 
morrow, are nouns, but they serve the purpose of adverbial 
elements as is shown by supplying the preposition; as, They 
arrived (on) yesterday; James will return (on) to-night. In 
all similar expressions, supply the preposition when it can be 
done, so as to express the thought clearly; otherwise, parse 
the noun in the objective case without a governing word ex- 
pressed. 

How are adverbs of cause distinguished from other adverbs? 
Ans. — Adverbs of cause tell why; as, therefore, why, where- 
fore, hence (for this reason). 

How are adverbs of manner distinguished? 
Ans. — Adverbs of manner tell how, in what way. 

Name the principal adverbs of manner. 

Ans. — Well, anyhow, plainly, amiss, asunder, badly, easily, 
certainly, sweetly, foolishly, surely, indeed, no, not, nay, verily, 
perhaps, perchance, probably. 

How are adverbs of degree distinguished ? 

Ans. — Adverbs of degree tell how much, to zvhat extent. 

Name the principal adverbs of degree. 

Ans. — Almost, much, altogether, more, enough, even, most, 
little, less, equally, least, only, partly, wholly, scarcely, quite, 
nearly, chiefly, too, somewhat, very, excellently. 

What is a conjunctive adverb? 

Ans. — A conjunctive adverb is a word which connects two 
propositions and modifies the verb in one or both propositions. 
A conjunctive adverb serves the purpose of a conjunction and 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 135 

also that of an adverb at the same time, and always modifies 
the verb in the subordinate clause. 

Give examples of conjunctive adverbs. 
Ans. — I shall read while you write. 

"When the cat's away 

The mice will play." 

Name some conjunctive adverbs. 

Ans. — When, where, before, after, till, until, while, why, as, 
since, how, than. 

What is an interrogative adverb? 

Ans. — An interrogative adverb is an adverb used in asking 
a question. 

Give examples of interrogative adverbs. 

Ans. — When will you return? Where are your books? 

XoTE. — Sometimes adverbs modify phrases ; as, You arrived 
just in time ; The line is not far beyond that tree. Here just 
modifies the phrase in time; and far modifies the phrase beyond 
that tree. 

LESSON Ln. 

Order of Parsing Adverbs. 

1. Adverb of, — 
Place, 
Time 
Cause, 
Manner, 
Degree, 

2. Compare it, 

3. Tell what it modifies. 



136 

Parse the nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs in 
the following sentences : 



1 
2 

3 
4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 



Ripe cherries are red. 

The best grain grows in rich soil. 

He acted wisely in all things. 

The merchant sells many beautiful patterns. 

Lucy is more diligent than Sarah. 

The wisest men are not always the most useful. 

A little girl was lost in the great woods. 

Many small, mischievous boys attend school. 

The weather is warm in summer and cold in winter. 

In his effort to win the race, he ran very rapidly. 

Subjects for Composition. 



The Closing of School. 
Love of Duty. 
Politeness. 

Order of Parsing Participles. 

1. Participle, 
Present, 
Past, 
Compound. 

2. From what verb derived? 

3. Partakes of the use of what two parts of speech? 

4. Tell what it modifies. 

L.ESSON Mil. 

Order of Parsing Prepositions. 

1. Preposition. 

2. Name the words between w T hich it shows relation. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 37 

Parse the adjectives, adverbs and prepositions in the follow- 
ing sentences : 

i. Herbert staid at home to help in the harvest field. 

2. Part of the money was divided among the stockholders. 

3. That man with the book in his hand went by our house 
to-day. 

4. Four of the candidates reside on farms located in Lewis 
county, West Virginia. 

5. We saw him walk out of the building and go toward the 
depot. 

Note;. — Out of taken together is a preposition. 

6. This book of mine is different from yours or theirs. 

7. What did you say to me while standing in front of the 
church just before you went into the car? 



LESSON LIV. 

Order of Parsing Conjunctions. 

1. Conjunction. 

2. Coordinate or Subordinate. 

3. Tell what it connects. 

Parse the prepositions and conjunctions in the following sen- 
tences : 

1. The engine and cars fell into the river. 

2. Leona went to school, but Hila staid at home. 

3. He is older than I, and I am older than you. 

4. Both reason and religion condemn excess. 

5. Not only the officers, but also the members were sick. 

6. Either the Spanish or the American troops will sur- 
render. 

7. Neither borrow nor lend books. 

8. The horse, as well as the wagon, belongs to me. 

10 



138 white's practical 

Note — In the fifth sentence, not only — but also are correla- 
tive conjunctions; that is, they refer to or answer each other. 
Also, both-and, in the fourth sentence are correlatives because 
one refers to or answers the other. 



Order of Parsing Interjections. 
i. Interjection. 
2. Tell why. 

LESSON LV. 

Sentences for a general review of analysis and parsing : 

1. A crowd of admiring pupils congregated in Plato's gar- 
den. 

2. He who stands on etiquette shows his own littleness. 

3. The mind loves to dwell in memory's twilight bow r ers. 

4. Apostles, prophets and martyrs have proved the truth of 
the Christian faith. 

5. Cunning and avarice may gain an estate, hut can not 
gain friends. 

6. Plants and animals are found in all parts of the world. 

7. Impurities in water are left behind when it evaporates. 

8. The rapid melting of snow swells a stream far beyond 
its usual limits. 

9. The fool neither knows whether he is right nor cares 
whether he is wrong. 

10. Nearly every spring is the source of a stream of water 
which flows from it. 

11. To assume that a person is guilty of an offence, is unjust. 

12. The force with which waves dash upon the coast is very 
great. 

13. The time required by the earth to make one complete 
revolution around the sun, is called a year. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 39 

14. To remain in one spot always, prevents the mind from 
taking- comprehensive views of things. 

15. The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink; 

I heard a voice ; it said, "Drink, pretty creature, drink!" 
And, looking o'er the hedge, before me I espied 
A snow-white mountain lamb with a maiden at its side. 

Xo other sheep was near, the lamb was all alone, 
And by a slender cord was tethered to a stone ; 
With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel, 
While to that mountain lamb she gave its evening meal. 

The lamb, while from her hand he thus his supper took, 
Seemed to feast with head and ears ; and his tail with 

pleasure shook. 
"Drink, pretty creature, drink," she said in such a tone 
That I almost received her heart into my own.. 

— William Wordsworth. 



LESSOX LVI. 

Infinitives Explained. 
Section 1. 

Infinite verbs, or infinitives, are not more difficult to dispose 
of when properly presented, than finite verbs. The following 
explanations should be carefully studied and reviewed until 
the subject matter is thoroughly understood. 

Infinitives are used either as nouns or as adjective or .ad- 
verbial modifiers. In this small compass we circumscribe the 
limits of verbs in the infinitive mode. 

When infinitives are used as nouns, they may be in the nomi- 
native case either as subject or predicate; they may be in the 
objective case after transitive verbs, or they may be in apposi- 



140 white: s practical 

tion with a noun or pronoun ; as, To sleep is to refresh one's 
self. Here To sleep is an infinitive used as a noun, and is in 
the nominative case because it is used as the subject of the 
sentence; and to refresh is an infinitive used as a noun in the 
nominative case, used as the predicate of the sentence. In the 
sentence, "We shall try to learn/' to learn is an infinitive used 
as a noun in the objective case after shall try, a transitive verb. 
In the sentence, "It is annoying to hear such noise," to hear 
has a noun use and is in the nominative case, by apposition, 
with it. Or, the word it may be classed as an introductory 
word, and to hear may be parsed as an infinitive used as a noun 
in the nominative case, used as the subject of the sentence. 

Infinitives not used as nouns may modify or depend upon : 
i. A noun; as, We need men to work. 

2. A verb} as, We came to see the country. 

3. An adjective} as, The problem is hard to solve. 

4. A pronoun} as, The trustees heard them recite. 

5. A participle} as, The building threatening to fall, we 
moved away. 

Infinitives always retain their verbal signification whether 
used as nouns or not, and may be modified by adjective, ad- 
verbial or objective elements. In the sentence, "To deceive is 
wrong," to deceive is used as a noun, and as such it is the sub- 
ject of the sentence. Since to deceive is the subject and wrong, 
an adjective, is used as the predicate, this adjective must modi- 
fy the subject when properly parsed. Wrong is a descriptive 
adjective and modifies the subject to deceive. 

Note. — An adjective predicate always modifies the subject. 

In the sentence, "To spend time foolishly is the height of 
folly," to spend is used as a noun in the nominative case be- 
cause it is the subject of the sentence, yet it is modified by 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. I4I 

time, an objective element, and also by foolishly, an adverbial 
element. 

In the sentence, "I shall try to teach you," to teach is a verb 
in the infinitive mode, here used as a noun in the objective 
case, object of shall try. In addition to the use of to teach 
as a noun, it is modified by the pronoun you, an objective ele- 
ment. 

Sometimes an infinitive having the vise of a copulative verb 
is connected with another verb in such manner as to form a 
copula ; as, The prisoner seems to be innocent. This use of 
to be is very common. In the above sentence, to be is blended 
with seems so that both words are required to form the copula. 
In parsing, however, to be is a separate word, and should be 
parsed as an infinitive not used as a noun, and depends upon 
the word seems. 

An infinitive is sometimes used with an adjective to form a 
phrase noun which may be used as a subject or predicate; as, 
To be cheerful is to be happy. Here the adjectives cheerful and 
happy are used abstractly; that is, without reference to any 
noun. In such uses of to be, the word to, seems to be used only 
for the purpose of introducing the phrase, and does not appear 
to be a part of the verb as is true in other uses of the infinitive. 
In analysis we say, to be cheerful is a phrase noun used as the 
subject, and to be happy is a phrase noun used as the predicate. 
This is satisfactory so far as analysis is concerned. But in 
order to parse the words correctly, the sentence should be 
expanded ; as, Be cheerful and you will be happy ; Or, A per- 
son who is cheerful is also happy. 

Another use of the infinitive not generally understood, is 
where part of the sentence is introduced by a preposition fol- 
lowed by the infinitive; as, Our teacher was about to resign. 



142 



white: s practical 



Here about to resign has the force of an adjective, and is the 
predicate, although to resign should be parsed as the object of 
the introductory preposition about. This use of a prepositional 
phrase is not uncommon ; as, I am in haste. Here in haste 
should be considered the predicate rather than an adverbal ele- 
ment, for am is a pure copulative verb, just like was in the 
above sentence. 

In the sentence, "For a person to be hasty is unwise/" for 
a person to be hasty is the subject, and unwise is the predicate. 
For is simply an introductory word, for it shows no relation 
as prepositions do. The sentence should be expanded so that 
all the words may be properly disposed of; as, A person who 
is hasty is unwise ; or, It is unwise for a person to be hasty. 
In this sentence, for a person to be hasty is a phrase noun in 
apposition with it. 

A very common use of the infinitive, and one not considered 
at all by many authors, is its use after the verb ought; as, You 
ought to go now. The trouble does not seem to lie with the 
infinitive, but with the verb ought, which means to be obliged, 
to be bound by duty. The infinitive seems to determine the 
tense of ought; as, You ought to go ; or, You ought to have 
gone. It means should, and its only purpose is to emphasize 
the obligation expressed by should. In the sentence, "You 
ought to go," it is plain that ought to go is equivalent to should 
go. In all such cases, to avoid ambiguity, change the word 
ought and the infinitive to its equivalent, using should and the 
verb ; as, He should go. 

Sentences Illustrated by Diagrams Below : 
i. To win affections is to conquer foes. 

2. A church is a place to worship God. 

3. Attempts to kill the President have often been made. 

4. We will try to please you. 

5. It is easy to make mistakes. 



grammar and composition. 143 

Model Diagrams. 



(/) 



-3- 



-l£ L_ 




(Z &3) 

y\ cs K papula- CX^JU)rn^^AAcujt.i^£^ m.cxxl*. 




* (4) / 



z 



#^- 



The diagrams here given illustrate the various uses of the 
infinitive. In the first sentence "to win" is a noun and as such 
is the subject of the sentence. "To conquer" is also a noun 
and is the predicate. Each of these infinitives has also a tran- 
sitive verb use and each governs an object. Two forms of 
diagraming the sentence are given. 

In the second and third sentences "to worship" and "to kill" 

are both adjective elements, and yet each governs an object 
as is shown by the diagrams. 



144 



WHITK S PRACTICAL 



Two forms of diagrams are used to illustrate the fourth 
sentence. The infinitive "to please" is a noun in the objective 
case and also controls an object. 

In the fifth sentence "to make mistakes" is in apposition with 
the pronoun "it." Two forms of diagram are given to ex- 
press the analysis of this sentence, either of which is practicable. 



Diagram the following sentences : 

i . We are always in search of something to make us happy. 

2. I am not well enough to go to school today. 

3. To be entirely free from faults is impossible. 

4. Rip Van Winkle's friends did not appear to know him. 

5. He was about to speak when time was called. 

6. It is easy to see the mistakes of others. 

7. For me to say that you are ignorant of the subject is 
unjust. 

8. They told us to return on the next train from the East. 

9. Pupils should try to learn to master difficulties. 

10. He would like to know how to dispose of "to be." 

11. Having little to fear of a worse state, they were deter- 
mined to try to obtain a better one. 

12. Vast riches stimulate to endeavors to gain ascendency in 
every station, and the dearest, the most cherished of all desire 
is to rule, to be master ; aye, to enslave. 

13. To vote is not only a privilege, it is an imperative duty, 
and to neglect its exercise is to flee before the enemy ; to refuse 
to take up arms in defence of our country, our honor, and our 
homes. 

14. It has come to be the practice to select men for their 
power to entertain, to tell stories, to treat generously, to be hail 
fellows, rather than for their qualifications to discharge the 
trusts of office. 



grammar and composition. i45 

Sentences Illustrated by Diagrams Below : 

I want to be obedient and to be honorable. 

For us to know our faults is profitable. 

To be old is to be useless. 

John seemed to be a hero. 

They found the deed to be genuine. 




To jft- N <r£-&cCc*sra ' " 

-L — £_^ 




(4 ) v 



<^77lJ?y ^pTUyn^/\ 



( 6 J ^ /^ ^ 



cUjs^L^ 



T 



<CJ? 



g&n-t^urij? . 



In the first sentence "to be" has a noun use and is used as 
the object of want. "To be" also has a copulative verb use 
to the extent of governing adjective predicates. 

"For" in the second sentence is an introductory preposition 
and has for its object the pronoun us. "To know" depends 



146 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



upon us as an adjective element, yet it has for its object, the 
noun faults. 

"To be" in the third sentence, is used as subject and predi- 
cate, and in each case is followed by an adjective predicate 
used abstractly. By expanding the sentence the meaning will 
be made clear ; as, When a man is old he is useless. 

kk To be" is often used to strengthen a copulative verb, as 
in the fourth sentence. Yet "to be" depends upon seems and 
is an adverbial element. Hero is in the nominative case after 
to be. 

In the fifth sentence "to be" depends upon deed, yet it has 
an adverbial signification as well as that of a verb, and is so 
represented on the diagram. 

LESSON LVII. 

Properties of Nouns Resumed. 
Section 1. 

In how many ways may the gender of nouns be expressed? 
Ans. — In three ways : — 

1. By the use of different words. 

2. By the use of different endings. 

3. By joining distinguishing words before or after the 
noun. \ 







First Method. 




Masculine, 


Feminine. 


Masculine, 


Feminine 


Boy, 


girl. 




Youth, 


maiden. 


Bachelor, 


maid. 




Beau, 


belle. 


Husband, 


wife. 




Man, 


woman. 


Male, 


female. 




Lord, 


lady. 


Brother, 


sister. 




King, 


queen. 



CRAM. MAR AND COMPOSITION. 



147 



Cock, 


hen. 


Drake, 


duck. 


Nephew, 


niece. 


Earl, 


countess 


Lad, 


lass. 


Father, 


mother. 


Ram, 


ewe. 


Gander, 


goose. 


Son, 


daughter. 


Uncle, 


aunt. 


Stag. 


hind. 


Hart, 


roe. 


Wizard, 


witch. 


Monk, 


nun. 


He, 


she. 


Master, 


mist res ?. 


Sir, 


madam. 


Mr. 


Mrs. 


Steer, 


heifer. 


Papa, 


mamma. 



Some nouns have no corresponding gender ; as, porter, baker, 
brewer, carrier, which are masculine ; and laundress, milliner, 
seamstress, which are feminine. 

Second Method. — (Note the endings.) 



Actor, 


actress. 


Abbott, 


abbess. 


* Author, 


authoress. 


Count, 


countess. 


Dauphin, 


dauphiness. 


Duke, 


duchess. 


Administrator, 


administratrix 


Czar, 


czarina. 


Adulterer, 


adulteress. 


Baron, 


baroness. 


Deacon, 


deaconess. 


Ambassador, 


ambossadress 


Emperor, 


empress. 


Heir, 


heiress. 


Bride-groom, 


bride. 


Benefactor, 


benefactress. 


or Groom, 








Hero, 


heroine. 


Executor, 


executrix. 


Hunter, 


huntress. 


Governor, 


governess. 


Lion, 


lioness. 


Landgrave, 


landgravine. 


Host, 


hostess. 


Tailor, 


tailoress. 


Jew, 


Jewess. 


*Poet, 


poetess. 


Prince, 


princess. 


Tiger, 


tigress. 


Prophet, 


prophetess. 


God, 


goddess. 


Negro, 


negress. 


Marquis, 


marchioness. 


Arbiter, 


arbitress. 


Shepherd, 


shepherdess. 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



Sorcerer, 


sorceress. 


Waiter, 


waitress. 


Sultan, 


sultana. 


Murderer, 


murderess. 


Augustus, 


Augusta. 


Director, 


directress. 


Charles, 


Charlotte, 


Instructor, 


instructress 


Cornelius, 


Cornelia, 


Francis, 


Frances. 


Henry, 


Henrietta. 


Jesse, 


Jessie. 


Joseph, 


Josephine. 


Paul, 


Pauline. 


Louis, 


Louisa. 


Don, 


Donna. 



Note. — Author and poet are now commonly applied to either 
sex. 

Third Method. — (Note the distinguishing words.) 



Gentleman, 

Cock-sparrow, 

Male child, 

Schoolmaster, 

He-goat, 

He-bear, 

Pea-cock, 



gentlewoman. Englishman, 

hen-sparrow. Man-servant, 

female child. Grandfather, 

schoolmistress, Billy-goat, 

she-goat. Merman, 

she-bear. Mr. Thomas, 
pea-hen. 



Englishwoman. 

maid-servant. 

grandmother. 

nanny-goat. 

mermaid. 

Mrs. Thomas. 



Gender is sometimes ascribed to objects without life by re- 
ferring to them as living beings ; as, The sun shines in his 
power. The vessel lost her sail. Nouns thus used are said to 
be personified. 



Two rules are given by which to apply gender to personified 
nouns: i. Objects which convey the idea of great strength, 
size, power, firmness or terror are regarded as masculine; as, 
sun, time, sleep, death. 2. Objects which convey the idea of 
weakness, beauty, timidity or loveliness are regarded as femi- 
nine ; as, moon, ship, earth, country, nature. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. I49 

Observations on Gender. 

Section 2. 

In speaking of inferior animals or even of little children, 
gender is not always considered ; as, The pet deer escaped to 
its native forest : The child sleeps in its little bed. 

However, when gender is applied to animals the masculine 
or the feminine form is used ; as, The lion seizes his prey ; 
The nightingale sings her song. 

Remark i. — Some nouns in common gender are often re- 
garded as masculine or feminine ; as, Each person has his own 
duties to perform. 

Remark 2. — Some nouns in common gender are often re- 
garded as masculine ; as, The Boers are a brave people ; Heirs 
are often cheated out of their property. 

Remark 3. — When a pronoun is used for a noun in common 
gender, the pronoun is usually of the masculine form ; as, No 
pupil shall speak to his classmate. 

LESSON LVHI. 
Section 1. 

Observations on Number — .Formation of Plural Number. 

Rule 1. — Nouns whose last sound readily joins to s, form 
their plurals by adding ^ to the singular ; as, boy, boys ; book, 
books ; slate, slates. 

Rule 2. — Nouns whose last sound does not readily joins to s, 
form their plurals by adding es to the singular ; as, box, boxes ; 
bench, benches ; church, churches. 

Rule 3. — Most nouns, except proper names, ending in y used 



J5G WHITES PRACTICAL, 

after a consonant letter, change the 3' to ies ; as, sky, skies; 
lady, ladies ; mercy, mercies ; ally, allies ; city, cities ; daisy, 
'daisies ; fairy, fairies ; fancy, fancies ; mystery, mysteries. 

Rule 4. — Nouns ending in 3; used after a vowel add ^ to 
form the plural ; as, alley, alleys ; attorney, attorneys ; essay, 
essays ; money, moneys ; turkey, turkeys ; valley, valleys. 

Rule 5. — Nearly all nouns ending in f or fe change to ves; 
as, beef, beeves; life, lives; calf, calves; elf, elves; leaf, leaves; 
half, halves ; loaf, loaves ; knife, knives ; shelf, shelves. 

The following are exceptions to this rule : brief, briefs ; 
chief, chiefs ; proof, proofs ; relief, reliefs ; dwarf, dwarfs ; 
hoof, hoofs ; fife, fifes ; reef, reefs ; kerchief, kerchiefs ; waif, 
waifs ; safe, safes ; strife, strifes ; roof, roofs. 

Rule 6. — Nouns ending in if, except the word staff, add s; 
as, cuff, cuffs; muff, muffs; staff (a stick), staves, or staffs; 
staff (a body of officers), staffs. 

Rule 7. — Some nouns ending in used after a vowel, add s; 
as, trio, trios ; folio, folios ; bamboo, bamboos ; embryo, em- 
bryos ; seraglio, seraglios, cuckoo, cuckoos. 

Rule 8. — Some nouns ending in used after a consonant 
add s; as, halo, halos ; canto,, cantos ; domino, dominos (or es) ; 
lasso, lassos; junto, juntos; piano, pianos; memento, memnn- 
tos ; octavo, octavos ; two, 'twos ; zero, zeros ; solo, solos ; tyro, 
tyros ; quarto, quartos. 

The following are exceptions to this rule : hero, heroes ; 
cargo, cargoes ; motto, mottoes ; calico, calicoes ; buffalo, 
buffaloes ; embargo, embargoes ; grotto, grottoes ; negro, ne- 
groes ; mulatto, mulattoes ; tornado, tornadoes ; potato, pota- 
toes ; portico, porticoes ; veto, vetoes ; torpedo, torpedoes ; 
volcano, volcanoes. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 151 

Rule 9. — A few nouns form their plural irregularly ; as, man, 
men ; mouse, mice ; goose, geese ; ox, oxen ;. child, children ; 
foot, feet ; tooth, teeth ; woman, women. 

Rule 10. Figures, letters and signs form their plurals by 
adding *s; as, 8's, 9's, t's, m's, — 's. Dot your i's and cross 
your t's and don't forget the $'s. 

Section 2. 

Many compound words vary the principal w r ord only, in 
forming the plural number ; as, father-in-law, fathers-in-law ; 
aid-de-camp, aids-de-camp ; attorney-at-law, attorneys-at-law ; 
daughter-in-law. daughters-in-law ; son-in-law, sons-in-law ; 
hanger-on, hangers-on ; billet-doux, billets-doux ; court-martial ; 
courts-martial. 

The following vary the last word ; as, gentleman, gentlemen ; 
fisherman, fishermen ; goose-quill, goose-quills ; French-man, 
French-men ; fellow-servant, fellow-servants ; English-man, 
English-men ; mantrap, mantraps ; mouthful, mouthfuls ; hand- 
ful, handfuls; maid servant, maid servants; spoonful, spoon- 
fuls ; stepson, stepsons ; forget-me-not, forget-me-nots. 

A few words have both parts made plural ; as, man-servant, 
men-servants ; woman-singer, women-singers ; knight-templar, 
knights-templars; man-child, men-children; woman-servant, 
woman-servants. 

Proper nouns with titles, except Mrs., may have either the 
title or the name made plural, but not both ; as, The Miss 
Whites, or the Misses White ; Dr. Hall and Dr. Holt, or Drs. 
Hall and Holt. 

The following are not compound words, and add ^ to form 
their plurals : Brahman, Brahmans ; German, Germans ; Mus- 
sulman, Mussulmans ; Talisman, Talismans. 



152 WHITE'S PRACTICAL 

According to their meaning some nouns have two plural 
forms ; as, brother, brothers — relatives ; brother, brethren — of 
the same society or church ; foot, feet — unit of measure ; foot, 
foot — infantry ; die, dies — impression stamps ; die, dice — mark- 
ed cubes for gaming; fish, fishes — plural of fish; fish, fish — 
species or quantity ; genius, geniuses — men of genius ; genius, 
genii — spirits ; cannon, cannons — large guns ; cannon, cannon 
— used collectively; head, heads — part of the body; head, 
head — plural of animal ; horse, horses — animals ; horse, horse — 
cavalry ; shot, shots — number of times ; shot, shot — number of 
balls ; index, indexes — table of contents ; index, indices — signs ; 
penny, pennies — pieces of money; penny, pence — quantity in 
value ; sail, sails — canvas ; sail, sail — vessels. 

Some words have the same form in both numbers; as, bel- 
lows, hose, pains (care), deer, means, sheep, odds, gross, 
series, swine, that, who, vermin, species, which, yoke. 

Names of substances, unless the kind is referred to, have 
no plural forms ; as, silver, vinegar, hemp, bread, coffee, grass, 
flour, hay, gold, iron, honesty, milk, lead, marble, music, peace, 
molasses, water, tin, steel. 

However, when the kinds of material are referred to the 
plural number is formed regularly ; as, coffee, coffees ; cotton, 
cottons ; sugar, sugars ; wine, wines. 

Section 3. 

Some nouns having plural forms only, are regarded as 
singular ; as, ashes, annals, shears, clothes, tongs, mumps, oats, 
measles, scissors, pincers, smallpox, victuals, thanks, tidings, 
hysterics, bellows, billiards, news, mechanics, physics, mathe- 
matics, politics. 

Collective nouns are treated as singular when they convey 
the idea of unity, and plural when they refer to the individuals 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 53 

composing the collection or assembly ; as, The committee made 
its report. The jury were divided in their opinion. 

Words from Foreign Languages. 

Words from foreign languages generally retain their orig- 
inal plural forms. A few, however, take the English plural ; 
as, axis, axes ; analysis analyses ; bandits or banditti ; anti- 
thesis, antitheses ; basis, bases ; appendix, appendixes or ap- 
pendices ; beau, beaus or beaux ; cherub, cherubs or cherubim ; 
focus, foci ; datum, data ; erratum, errata ; ellipsis, ellipses ; 
fungus, funguses or fungi ; genus, genuses or genera ; Madame, 
Mesdames, hypothesis, hypotheses ; magus, magi ; ignus fatuus, 
ignus fatui ; nebula, nebulae ; memorandum, memorandums or 
memoranda ; oasis, oases ; Monsieur, Monsieurs ; phenomenon, 
phenomena; stratum, strata; synopsis, synopses; seraph, 
seraphs or serphim ; vertebra, vertebrae ; terminus, termini ; 
vortex, vortexes or vortices. 

LESSON LIX. 

Different Uses of Words. 

A may be used : 

i. As a noun; as, A is the first letter of the English 
alphabet. 

2. An adjective ; as A house. 

3. A preposition; as, Our party went a-hunting. 

After — 

1. A preposition; as, He followed after the show. 

2. An adverb; as, The train goes before and the cars follow 
after. 

3. A conjunctive adverb; as, The enemy surrendered after 
the first volley was fired. 

11 



154 white's practical 

4. An adjective; as, After editions were printed. 

Again — 

1. An adverb; as, I hope you will come again. 

2. A conjunction; as, Again, it will be observed &c. 

3. An adverbial phrase; as, I read it again and again. 

Alike — 

1. An adjective ; as, They are both alike. 

2. Anadverb; as, We were alike pleased with the perform- 
ance and the performers. 

All— 

1. A noun; as, All were present. He gave all that he had. 

2. An adjective; as, They were all present. 

3. An adverb; as, The noise ceased all at once. 

As— 

1. A conjunctive adverb; as, He continues to write as he 
did before. 

2. A relative pronoun; as, Such as I have I am willing to 
divide with you. 

3. A conjunction denoting apposition; as, He enlisted as 
captain. 

4. Part of a conjunction; as, He reads as if the entire ex- 
amination depends upon it. 

You are not so tall as I am. 
The man as well as the boy is to blame. 
As his early training is, so will his manhood be. 

5. Part of a preposition; as, I am not informed as to that. 
As for me, I prefer independence, 

Before — 

1. An adverb; as, The leader should go before. 

2. A preposition; as, I saw the mist rising before me. 

3. A conjunctive adverb; as, She arrived before I came. 



grammar and composition. 155 

Below — 

i. A noun; as. He returned from below. 

2. An adjective; as, They live in the house below. 

3. An adverb; as, We went below. 

4. A preposition; as, My grade is below the average. 

Best— 

1. A noun; as, They all did their best. 

2. An adjective; as, Read the best books. 

3. An adverb; as, He can write best in the morning. 
Friends I loved the best. 

Better — 

1. A noun; as, Men should imitate their betters. 

2. A verb; as, They did not better it much. 

3. An adjective; as, John is a better scholar than I. 

4. An adverb; as, He is better educated and better trained. 

But — ■ 

1. An adjective; as, She is but a child. Note — But a should 
be parsed as one word. 

2. An adverb; as, We can but perish. 

3. A preposition; as. All were lost but two. (meaning 
except.) 

4. A conjunction; as, He came early but went home late. 

By— 

1. An adverb ; as, Did you see the train go by? 

2. A preposition; as, He went by himself. 

Each— 

1. A noun; as, They help each other. Note — Bach is in 
apposition with they. 

2. An adjective; as. Bach lady brought flowers. 



156 white's practical 

Enough — 

1. A noun; as/ You did not send enough. Note — The noun 
may be supplied and enough parsed as an adjective. 

2. An adjective; as, We all have trouble enough. 

3. An adverb ; as, His speech was long enough. 

Like — 

1. A noun; as, I never saw the like before. 

2. A verb ; as, All teachers like to have good order. 

3. An adjective ; as, We have like opportunities. 

4. A conjunctive adverb ; as, He works like he was accus- 
tomed to hard labor. 

Once — 

1. A noun; as, Tell me this once, and I shall be satisfied. 

2. An adverb ; as, Holidays come once a year. 

The— 

1. An adverb. Note — When the modifies an adverb, both 
words should be parsed as a single adverb; as, The oftener I 
read it the better I like it. Here the oftener modifies read, and 
the better modifies like. 

While— 

1. A noun; as, It is not worth while to mention it. While 
is here use^l in the objective case without a governing word 
expressed. It relates to time. 

2. A verb ; as, You may while away a pleasant hour. 

3. A conjunctive adverb ; as, I saw the vessel while it was 
anchored in the harbor. 

That— 

1. An adjective ; as, That rose is beautiful. 

2. A relative pronoun; as, I have the same kind that you 
have. 

3. A conjunction; as, We do not know that it is true. 



grammar and composition. 1 57 

Worth — 

i. Noun; as, We never knew his worth until after he left. 

2. A verb; as, Woe zvorth the day. Note — This is the only 
use of the word as a verb, and means, Woe be to the day, or 
May or let woe be to the day. The noun which follows worth 
as a verb, is in the objective case, object of a preposition under- 
stood. 

3. An adjective; as, It is worth nothing to me. He is worth 
a great deal. Note — In all such cases, worth is an adjective 
used as the predicate and modifies the subject, and the noun 
following it is in the objective case without a governing word 
expressed. 

LESSON LX. 

Punctuation. 
Section 1. 

Marks of punctuation are used to aid the reader in his inter- 
pretation of the thought expressed by the writer. These marks 
may separate words from each other, or may separate phrases, 
clauses and sentences. 

Notice the effect produced in the following sentence by the 
use of punctuation marks : 

Joseph Evans says he will find your purse and return it to 
you. 

Joseph, Evans says he will find your purse and return it to 
you. 

"Joseph Evans," says he, "will find your purse and return it 
to you." 

Joseph Evans says : "He will find your purse and return 
it to vou". 



158 white's practical 

Joseph, Evans says he will find your purse and — return it 
to you. 

Section 2. 

The Comma. 
The Comma is used: 

1. After a phrase out of its natural order. 

Ex. — 1. In a few minutes after the teacher arrived, the 
noise ceased. 

2. If at first you fail, try a second time. 

3. While some people are idle, others are improv- 
ing their time. 

4. Sitting by the fountain, he fell asleep and 
dreamed that he was dead. 

2. To separate parenthetical and introductory words and 
phrases. 

Ex. — 1. Set-off, it is true, is called a counter-claim. 

2. The exact day of payment need not, however, 
be stated. 

3. It was, in fact, our only opportunity. 

4. All you say is true, no doubt, and yet the argu- 
ment is not conclusive. 

5. Well, what do you think of the change? 

3. To set off nouns in the independent case by direct ad- 
dress. 

Ex. — 1. Judson, what are you writing now? 

2. I repeat, gentlemen of the jury, that the case 
is not clear. 

3. Remember, young men, that you are responsible 
for your own conduct. 

4. I rise, Mr. Chairman, to state a point or order. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 159 

4. To denote ellipsis of verbs. 

Ex. — 1. Old men obey the laws; young men, the rules 
of society. 

2. The sun shines by day ; the moon and stars, by 
by night. 

3. Lucy studies Latin; Ella, Greek; and Lillie, 
German. 

5. To separate words repeated for emphasis. 
Ex. — 1. Salt, salt, nothing but salt. 

2. Xo, no, no, it can not be true. 

3. Verily, verily, I say unto you. 

4. You, you are to blame, my countrymen. 

6. To set off nouns in apposition, together with their 
modifiers. 

Ex. — 1. Mr. Fast, the historian, lives in Morgantown. 

2. His brother, the Superintendent, visited the city 
schools. 

3. Where is William, your husband? 

The comma should not be used to separate a general title. 
Ex. — Queen Elizabeth was much adored. 
The poet Milton was blind. 

A title used after the name should be separated by the 
comma. 

Ex. — Send all communications to Lettie Morgan, Sec- 
retary. 

7. To separate couplets, or words used in pairs. 

Ex. — He did not seem to care for houses or lands, gold 
or silver. 



l6o WHITES PRACTICAL 

8. To set off short direct quotations. 

Ex. — i. "I am brave and strong/' said he, "and fear 
nothing". 
2. "Come to school early Monday morning/' said 
the teacher. 

An indirect quotation should not be set off by the comma. 

Ex. — George said that he would read the history of 
England. 

9. To separate words, phrases or clauses which form a 
series. 

Ex. — 1. Industry, perseverance, honesty, and frugality 
are essential to success. 

2. The air, the earth, the water, are all teeming 
with life. 

3. He is a wise, noble, generous man. 

Section 3. 

The Semi-Colon. 

The semi-colon is used : 

1. To separate short sentences which have no grammatical 
dependence upon each other. 

Ex. — 1. The rain ceased; the clouds scattered; the sun 
again appeared, and peace and quiet reigned 
supreme. 

2. The path was often stony; sometimes it led 
along steep hill-sides; sometimes, through deep 
woods. 

3. Many ripe apples are yellow ; a few are red. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. l6l 

2. To separate sentences which are themselves separated 
by commas. 

Ex. — i. The path of duty is a plain, safe path; that of 
disobedience, a snare to entrap the individual. 
2. There, only the English language would be 
spoken ; and in an English colony their children 
would grow up, knowing only English customs 
and English home life. 

3. Before a list of words not formally introduced. 

Ex. — 1. There are four kinds of sentences; Declarative, 
Imperative, Interrogative and Exclamatory. 
2. The three safe guides to eternity are ; A sound 
head, an honest heart, and an humble spirit. 

Note. — The colon is also sometimes used for this purpose. 

4. Before such words as as, namely, &c, used to introduce 
an example. 

Ex. — 1. A phrase is a group of words having neither 
subject nor predicate; as, on time; to see. 

2. Every plant has three parts; root, stem and 
branch. 

3. A descriptive adjective expresses some quality 
in the noun which it modifies ; as, Cold weather ; 
milder censure. 



The colon is used : 



Section 4. 

The Coeon. 



1. Between the divisions of sentences which are themselves 
separated by semi-colons. 

Ex. — 1. Man has effected wonders; he is every day ad- 
vancing in knowledge and power : yet, he can 
not so much as make a blade of grass. 



1 62 



WHITE S PRACTICAL 



2. Before a quotation referred to by as follows, thus, and 
a few other words. 

Ex. — i. Thus : There were three companies. These com- 
panies were stationed as follows : One in front ; 
one, in the rear ; and one, at the bridge. 
2. The truth of the matter is this : All those who 
were present are not guilty. 

3. After the salutation in a letter. 

Ex. — Dear Sir : Yours &c. 

Note. — The colon thus used is generally followed by the 
dash. 

Section 5. 



The Period. 



A period is used : 



1. At the conclusion of a declarative or imperative sen- 
tence. 

Ex. — 1. General truths are expressed in the present 
tense. 
2. Do not neglect so important a duty. 

2. To denote an abbreviation. 

Ex. — 1. Lieut. Hobson was captured. 

2. Dr. Snyder resides in Weston, W. Va. 

3. After headings of chapters, titles of books or news- 
papers. 

Ex. — 1. The Density of Solids and Liquids. 

2. The Charleston Gazette. The Weston Demo- 
crat. The Independent. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 163 

Section 6. 

The Dash. 
The dash is used to denote : 

1. An abrupt change in the sentence. 

Ex. — 1. Weston is noted for its paved streets, its promi- 
nent men, and — its oil boom. 
2. "He had no motive in his mind — no ruffles on 
his shirt." 

2. A repetition for emphasis. 

Ex. — 1. You speak like a boy — like a boy who feels the 
responsibility of boyhood days. 
2. What this country needs is men — men with 
brawny arms and massive brain. 

The Hyphen. 
The hyphen is used : 

1. Between syllables of compound words. 

Ex. — 1. There are twenty-four hours in a clay. 
2. His father-in-law donated $1,000. 

2. Between syllables divided at the end of a line. 

Ex. — There can be no good reason for such careless- 
ness on the part of any one. 

Section 7. 

The Exclamation Point. 
The exclamation point is used : 



164 white's practical 

1. After an exclamatory word or sentence. 
Ex. — 1. Oh ! what a crash. 

2. We hail with joy each holiday. Hurrah! hur- 
rah ! 

3. "Come to me, O ye children ! 
For I hear you at your play, 

And the questions that perplexed me 
Have vanished quite away." 

Section 8. 

Quotation Marks. 

Ouotation marks are used : 

"■" 

1. To enclose direct quotations. 

Ex. — 1. "That can not be," replied the wolf. 

2. "I am inclined to think," said the schoolmaster, 
"that you are disposed to be a little careless to- 
day". 

2. To enclose titles of books, papers or manuscripts. 

Ex. — 1. A dainty little book is "Selections from Isaac 
Pennington". 

2. Your letter found me reading "The Hoosier 
Schoolmaster". 

3. Your essay, "A Trip Across the Lake," was 
much appreciated. 

Section 9. 

The: Apostrophe. 
The apostrophe is used : 

1. To pluralize letters, characters and figures. 
Ex. — 1. Make your fs and Fs a little longer. 

2. How many 8's and 9's are found in the first 
column ? 

3. Write your 5's, a's and — 's plainer. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 165 

2. To denote omission of letters and contraction of words. 
Ex. — 1. You've seen them on the buds and flowers. 

2. You'd be surprised to see how nicely she sails 
o'er the lake. 

Section 10. 

Capital Letters. 
Begin with a capital letter : 

1. The first word of a sentence. 

Ex. — 1. Here and there were old moss-covered logs and 
piles of brush. 
2. Thus the poor sufferer tried to comfort others 
and herself. 

2. Proper nouns and proper adjectives. 

Ex. — 1. London is the capital of England. 

European customs do not please the average Amer- 
ican citizen. 

3. The first word of every line of poetry. 

Ex. — " 'Twas in the prime of summer-time, 
An evening calm and cool, 
And four-and-twenty happy boys 
Came bounding out of school.'' 

4. Names of the Deity, and pronouns used in address to 
God. 

Ex. — Divine Providence ; Heavenly Father ; Jehovah ; 
The Eternal ; Thou who art over all and above 
all, we beseech Thee to hear us. 

5. The first word of a direct quotation. 

Ex. — Uncle said, "Go up to the highest point on the 
mountain. " 
2. "He is an honorable man/' said the judge, ''and 
should be acquitted". 



i66 white's practical 

6. Nouns vividly personified. 
Ex. — "Sigh on sad heart, for Love's eclipse 

And Beauty's fairest queen, 
Though 'tis not for my peasant lips 
To soil her name between." 

7. Names of holidays, days of the week and months of 
the year. 

Ex. — Election Day ; Christmas ; Thursday, November 
29, 1900, was Thanksgiving Day. 

8. The first word of each term used in a list of particulars. 
Ex. — Expenses for last year : 

Repairs, $50.00. 
Apparatus, $40.00. 
Incidentals, $5.00. 
Printer's bill, $9.00. 

9. Names of written instruments and of important events. 
Ex. — The Protocol ; The Articles of Confederation ; The 

Era of Good Feeling. 

10. Titles of honor, names of religious sects, and names of 
political parties. 

Ex. — Hon. H. W. Harmer; The Democrats; The Re- 
publicans. 
2. The Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists 
conducted an union meeting; J. S. Vandervort, 
President. 

11. The words north, south, east and west, when they refer 
to sections of country. 

Ex. — One of my brothers lives in the East, and another, 
in the West. 

12. The pronoun / and the interjection should always be 
capitals. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. \6j 

13. All principal words in a name. 
Ex. — 1. The History of England. 

2. Weston Electric Light, Power and Water Com- 
pany. 

3. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

4. The Lewis County Bank. 

5. The Acme Publishing Company. 

LESSON LXI. 

Various Uses of the Different Parts of Speech. 

Any thing that is used as a name may be called a noun : 
Ex. — "Z" is the last letter of the English alphabet. 

"To steal" is a violation of law. 

"Them" is a pronoun. 

"What I told you" is true. 



Sometimes nouns become adjectives by being placed before 
other nouns which they modify. 
Ex. — Christmas morning. 

A holiday journey. 

A silver spoon 

West Virginia lumber. 



Names of books, papers and other names containing several 
words, may be called nouns and disposed of as single words. 
Ex. — Lowell's Bigelow Papers. 

Powell's Life of Taylor. 

McPherson's History of the United States. 

Sometimes proper nouns are so used as to lose the features 
that distinguish them from common nouns, and thereby become 
common nouns. 



1 68 white's practical 

Ex. — William McKinley is the Lincoln of the present time. 
George W. Dewey is the Paul Jones of our navy. 
All Neros should be execrated. 

The names Lincoln. Paul Jones and Nero have lost the fea- 
tures which distinguish individual names by referring to others 
equal in rank or bravery to Lincoln, Paul Jones or Nero, and 
are, therefore, common nouns. 



Such words as mother, uncle and aunt when used alone to 
denote the person referred to, are proper nouns in sense. 
Ex. — Mother, did you call me? 

Come here.. Sister, a moment. 

I did not hear you. Uncle. 



Common nouns may lose their common or general significa- 
tion, and thus become proper nouns. It is the office of proper 
nouns to distinguish persons or objects from each other, and 
whenever a common noun makes this distinction, it becomes a 
proper noun. 

Ex. — We crossed The Blue Ridge and visited The Falls. 
The Arrow (a ship) sailed for Xew Orleans. 



The possessive ease of compound and complex nouns is 
formed by annexing the possessive sign to the last word. 
Ex. — Waitman Barb's Poems. 

The Queen of England's Palaee. 

Fast and Maxwell's History and Government of West 
Virginia, 



GRAMMAR AXD COMPOSITION. 1 69 

When two or more names having separate possessions are 
mentioned, each name should have the possessive sign annexed. 
Ex. — Montgomery's and Goodrich's Histories. 
White's and Harvev's Grammars. 



When two or more names representing joint owners are 
used, the possessive sign should be annexed to the last name 
only. 

Ex.— Hornor & Gaylord's Wholesale House. 
Williams & Davison's Hardware Store. 



A noun modified by a noun in apposition, or other descrip- 
tive words or phrases, has the possessive sign annexed to the 
noun which immediately precedes the name of the thing pos- 
sessed, though it is not always the name of the possessor. 

Ex. — His Honor, the Judge's, opinion. 

The minister of the Methodist Church's salarv. 



When a pronoun has two or more singular antecedents in 
different genders, either singular pronouns of different gen- 
ders, or a plural pronoun in the common gender, should be 
used. 

Ex. — Xo man or woman should injure his or her neighbor's 
property. 

Xo man or woman should injure their neighbor's 
property. 

Should one of the antecedents be plural, it should be placed 
next to the pronoun, and the pronoun itself should be plural. 
Ex. — Xeither the teacher nor the pupils were satisfied with. 
their entertainment. 

12 



I70 WHITES PRACTICAL, 

The pronoun it is sometimes used in the nominative and 
objective cases without any definite antecedent. 
Ex. — O, how it rains. 

Come and see it snow. 

It was Admiral Dewey who won honors at Manilla. 



When two or more nouns are connected by and, thus form- 
ing a compound term, the whole should be regarded 
as a single thing ; as, The house and lot was sold at 
cost, but that was not its real value. Here the pronoun its 
refers to the words "house and lot" for its antecedent. An- 
other example: The clerk receives ten dollars a month and 
board, and it is considered a sufficient compensation. 

LESSON LXII. 

Different Uses of Pronouns. 

A pronoun has the same number, person and gender as its 
antecedent. 

Ex. — The soldier was true to his country. 

Sarah exchanged her old book for a new one. 



The antecedent of a pronoun may be a noun, a pronoun, a 
phrase or a clause. 

Ex. — He sent his daughter to school, 

The man lost his watch in the river. 

He wanted to enlist, but it was denied him. 

Note. — To enlist is the antecedent of it. 

The boy disobeyed his teacher, and now he is sorry 
for it. 
Note. — Disobeyed his teacher is the antecedent of it. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. I7J 

The English language has no pronoun in singular number, 
third person and common gender, and for this reason pro- 
nouns in the masculine gender are sometimes used for this 
purpose. 

Ex. — If any one should call to see me this afternoon, tell 
him to wait until I return. 

Each individual present exhibited great bravery by 
helping to extinguish the flames, and each received 
his share of the amount donated. 



When a pronoun has two or more antecedents meaning the 
same person or thing, the pronoun should be singular. 

Ex. — The poet and statesman wrote a history of his own 

country. 

The husband and father has a right to punish his child. 



When one of two or more antecedents of a pronoun is made 
emphatic, the pronoun should be singular. 

Ex. — The law T , as well as the gospel, has its commandments. 
The man and not the boy, is responsible for his conduct. 



A pronoun whose antecedent is limited by no, each or every, 
should be singular. 

Ex. — No profession and no trade is free from its difficulties. 

Each conductor and each fireman did his duty. 

Every nation and every tribe has its language. 



A pronoun with two or more singular antecedents in the 
same gender, and connected by or or nor, should be singular. 
Ex. — Mary or Lucy will return her book tomorrow. 



17 2 white's practical 

LESSON LXIII. 

General Review. 

What is grammar? (See preface.) 

Why are words used in sentences ? 

How many parts of speech are there? Name them. De- 
fine each. 

What is a proper noun? How should proper nouns beg.n? 

What is a common noun ? How should common nouns 
begin ? 

Give examples of each kind of nouns. 

May a proper noun ever become a common noun? If so, 
when? 

May a common noun ever become a proper noun? If so, 
when ? 

Give examples of each and explain their use. 

What is a collective noun? Give examples. 

Tell how and why a collective noun may have either the 
singular or plural form of the verb. ' 

What is an abstract noun? Give examples. 

What is a verbal noun? Give examples. 

What are the properties of the noun? 

What is number? Define each number. 

What is person? How many persons? Define each. 

Give examples of nouns in the first, second and third persons. 

Give rules for forming the plural of nouns. 

How do nouns ending in / or fe form their plurals ? 

Xame some nouns which have no plural forms. 

Name some nouns which have no singular forms. 

How is the plural of compound and complex nouns formed ? 

When other parts of speech are used as nouns, how is the 
plural formed? 

How form the plural of a title and a name? Give examples. 






GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1/3 

What is gender? How many genders are there? Define 
each. 

Name the methods of distinguishing the sexes. 

What is case ? How many cases ? Define each. 

How is the possessive case of singular nouns formed? 

How is the possessive case of plural nouns formed ? 

How is the nominative case of nouns known? The pos- 
sessive ? 

How is the objective case known? The independent? 

The Pronoun. 

What is a pronoun? How many kinds of pronouns? De- 
fine each. 

What is the antecedent of a relative pronoun? 

What does antecedent mean? What does subsequent mean? 

What kind of pronouns have subsequents? Give examples. 

What properties have pronouns? Are these properties the 
same as the properties of nouns? 

What are personal pronouns? Name some personal pro- 
nouns. 

Decline the personal pronoun in first person. 

What is declension of pronouns? Why are pronouns de- 
clined ? 

Decline the simple personal pronoun in second person. 

In what cases are pronouns declined ? 

Decline a simple personal pronoun in third person. 

May relative and interrogative pronouns be declined? Give 
examples. 

What is a relative pronoun ? How many kinds of relatives ? 

How do relatives differ from personal pronouns? 

Name the simple relatives. The compound relatives. 

State how compound relatives are formed. Give examples. 

What words are used as interrogative pronouns ? 



174 white's practical 

May these words ever be used as adjectives? If so, when ? 
Decline the compound personal pronouns in first, second and 
third person. 

The: Verb. 

What is a verb? What does the word verb mean? 

When we say a verb asserts or affirms something, what do 
we mean? 

How are verbs divided according to their use? 

What is a copulative verb? What does copula mean? 

What is a transitive verb? Give examples. 

What is an intransitive verb? Give examples. 

May a transitive verb in one sense, ever become intransitive ? 

What is the object of a transitive verb? Explain. 

What kind of verbs have voice ? Define voice. 

How are verbs divided according to their form? 

What is a regular verb? An irregular verb? An auxiliary 
verb? 

What properties belong to verbs? How many voices have 
verbs ? 

When is the active voice used, and when the passive voice ? 

How is a verb in the active voice changed to the passive 
voice? Give examples. 

What is mode ? How many modes are there ? 

What is tense ? How many tenses has the indicative mode ? 

What is meant by present tense? By past tense? By future 
tense ? 

What is meant by present perfect tense? By past perfect 
tense ? 

What is the use of the future perfect tense ? 

How may the present perfect tense usually be known ? The 
past perfect tense ? The future perfect tense ? 

How many and what tenses has the subjunctive mode? 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1 75 

What tenses has the potential mode ? 

Give examples of verbs in all the tenses in the indicative 
mode. 

Give examples of verbs in all tenses used in the subjunctive 
mode. 

Give examples of all tenses used in the potential mode. 

How many and what tenses are used in the imperative mode ? 
In the infinitive mode? 

For what purpose are auxiliary verbs used ? Give examples. 

What is synopsis of verbs? Conjugation of verbs? 

What is meant by the number and person of verbs? 

What is meant by the principal parts of a verb? Give ex- 
amples. 

Give a conjugation of the verb "To Be" in all the modes and 
tenses. 

Conjugate the verb "To Frighten" in all the modes. 

The Participle. 

What is a participle? Why is this part of speech so called? 

How many participles are there ? Give examples. 

Define the present participle. How does it end ? 

Define the past participle. How may the past participle 
usually be known or distinguished from the verb ? 

How does the past participle usually end ? 

What is the compound participle ? How- formed ? 

May the participle ever be used as a noun? If so, when? 

May the participle form of the verb ever be used as an ad- 
jective? Give examples. 

What is the difference, if any, between a participle and a 
verbal adjective? Give examples. 

The Adjective. 
Y\ nat is an adjective? What does an adjective modify? 



1/6 WHITES PRACTICAL 

Name the two great classes of adjectives. Give examples 
of each. 

How many kinds of descriptive adjectives are there? 

What is a common adjective? A proper adjective? A verbal 
adjective? 

How many classes of definitive adjectives are there? 

What words are called articles ? Explain the use of each. 

Define pronominal adjectives. Name the principal pro- 
nominals. 

How many kinds of pronominal adjectives? Name them. 

What are demonstrative adjectives? Distributive adjectives? 

Name some demonstrative adjectives. Some distributive 
adjectives. 

What are indefinite adjectives? Give examples. 

What are numeral adjectives ? Give examples. 

What are cardinal adjectives? Ordinals? Multiples? 

What is comparison of adjectives? How many degrees or 
comparison ? 

Define each degree of comparison. 

How is the comparative degree of words of one syllable 
formed ? 

How is the comparative degree of words of more than one 
syllable formed? What exception to this rule? Give examples. 

What kind of adjectives admit of comparison? 

Name some descriptive adjectives that do not admit of com- 
parison. 

What is meant by irregular comparison of adjectives? Give 
examples. 

How many kinds of comparison ? Define each kind. 

By ascending comparison how are adjectives compared? 

By descending comparison how are adjectives compared? 

Give examples of each kind of comparison. 

What other part of speech may be compared? 



grammar and composition. ijj 

The Adverb. 

What is an adverb? What besides single words, may ad- 
verbs modify? # 

How many kinds of adverbs are there ? 

How are adverbs of place distinguished from other adverbs? 

How are adverbs of time distinguished? Give examples. 

How are adverbs of cause distinguished? Give examples. 

How are adverbs of manner distinguished ? Give examples. 

How are adverbs of degree distinguished ? Give examples. 

What is a conjunctive adverb What two uses has a con-, 
junctive adverb? 

Give examples of conjunctive adverbs. 

What are interrogative adverbs? Give examples. 

Xame some words that are frequently used as introductory 
words. 

What adverbs admit of comparison? 

The Prepositiox. 

What is a preposition? What does Preposition mean? 

What is meant by the object of a preposition? 

Between what words does a preposition show relation? 

What is a prepositional phrase? Give examples. 

Give examples of prepositions which modify phrases. 

When the prepositional phrase modifies a noun, between 
what words does the preposition show relation? 

When the prepositional phrase modifies a verb, between what 
words does the preposition show relation ? 

When may a preposition be used as an adverb? Give ex- 
amples. 

The Conjunction and Ixtertectiox. 

What is a conjunction? Xame two kinds of conjunctions. 
What is the office of conjunctions? 



i 7 8 



WHITE) s practical 



Give examples of conjunctions used to connect words. 

Give examples of conjunctions used to connect phrases. 

Give examples of conjunctions used to connect sentences. 

Extinguish between coordinate and subordinate conjunc- 
tions. 

What kind of elements does a -coordinate conjunction con- 
nect? 

What kind of elements does a subordinate conjunction con- 
nect? 

Give examples of each kind of connectives. 

What is the difference between a conjunction and a con- 
junctive adverb? 

What is an interjection? What is its use? Give examples. 



Analysis and Diagrams. 



What is a sentence? How many kinds of sentences are there? 

Define a simple sentence. A complex sentence. A com- 
pound sentence. 

What is a declarative sentence? An imperative sentence? 

Define an exclamatory sentence. An interrogative sentence. 

What is the subject of a sentence? What is a compound 
subject? 

What are the principal elements of a sentence ? 

Name the subordinate elements of a sentence. 

What is a proposition? How many kinds of propositions? 

Define a principal proposition. 

What is an independent proposition? A dependent proposi- 
tion? 

When is a proposition a sentence ? When, not a sentence ? 

What is an element of a sentence? Give examples. How 
many elements must the simple sentence have? " Why? Give 
examples. 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. 1/9 

What besides single words, may the subject of a sentence 
be? 

Give examples of infinitives used as the subject. As predi- 
cate. 

Give examples of phrases used as the subject. As predicate. 

Give examples of clauses used as the subject. As predicate. 

What kind of elements are nouns and pronouns in the pos- 
sessive case? 

What kind of elements are nouns in apposition? Give ex- 
amples. 

Give examples of nouns used as adjective elements. 

Give examples of adjectives used as principal elements. 

State the advantage of analyzing sentences by diagrams. 

What mark separates the subject from the verb? 

What mark separates a noun or adjective predicate from 
the verb ? 

What mark separates an objective element from the verb? 

How is an adjective or adverbial element shown to modify, 
by diagram ? 

How is an adjective or adverbial element composed of a 
preposition and its objects, shown to modify, by diagram? 

Show by diagram, how to analyze a simple sentence. 

Show by diagram, how to analyze a complex sentence. 

Show by diagram, how to analyze a compound sentence. 

Letter Writing. 

How many parts are there of an ordinary business or social 
letter ? 

What is the first part of a letter called? 

What does -the heading of a letter contain? 

State how the heading of a letter should be punctuated. 

What is the second part of a letter called? 

What does the introduction of a letter contuin? 



l8o WHITES PRACTICAL 

Give examples of introduction of letters to strangers. 

Give examples of introduction of letters to relatives. 

State how the introduction of a letter should be punctuated 

What is the third part of a letter called? 

What does the body of a letter contain ? 

What is the last part of a letter called? 

What does the conclusion of a letter contain? 

What is the writing on the envelope called? What does it 
contain ? 

Write a complete letter to The Acme Publishing Company, 
Morgantown, W. Va., asking for information in regard to 
publishing a text-book on Grammar. 

Write an invitation to two lady friends to be present at a 
social gathering of friends at your home. 

LESSON LXIV. 

Sentences £or Final Review in Analysis and Parsing. 

i . And they played again and again ; and when day, steal- 
ing through the skylights, began to dim the lamps, it found 
the two in the same places at the same table, still at the game. 

2. A man thirty years old, I said to myself, should have 
his fields of life all plowed, and his planting well done ; for 
after that it is summer-time, with space scarce enough to ripen 
his sowing. 

3. It was at one time supposed that municipal government 
in the Middle Ages was a relic of Roman times, but the bet- 
ter opinion is that municipal liberty as it existed in the Middle 
Ages was a product of the Germanic peoples. 

4. In his last days, old King Louis, in wretched health, tor- 
tured with the fear of death, and in constant dread of plots to 
destroy him, shut himself up in his gloomy castle, which he 



GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. l8l 

fortified and manned with guards who were instructed to shoot 
all who approached without leave. 

5. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, 
But here I am to speak what I do know. 
You all did love him once, not without cause ; 
What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him ? 
O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts, 

And men have lost their reason ! — Bear with me ; 
My heart is in the coffin there w r ith Caesar, 
And I must pause till it come back to me. 

— Shakespeare. 

6. Illustrations of this capacity of the intellect to quicken 
the processes of thought, which consist at first of strenuous 
efforts, until, by reiteration, they reach automatic rapidity, 
may be found in every one's experience. 

7. The early lessons consist in painstaking endeavor, in 
which every touch of a key is prompted by a distinct act of the 
will and a series of careful volitions precisely corresponding to 
the series of musical notes which compose the piece selected 
for practice. But if the reviews of the same air are continued, 
the exact efforts succeed each other with increased facility and 
each note requires less and less exclusive attention. 

8. 
Love took up the glass of time, and turn'd it in his glowing 

hands ; 
Every moment, lightly shaken, ran itself in golden sands. 

Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords 

with might ; 
Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, pass'd in music out 

of sight. 



182 



WHITE S PRACTICAL, 



Many a morning on the moorland did we hear the copses ring, 
And her whisper throng'd my pulses with the fulness of the 
Spring. 

Many an evening by the waters did we watch the stately ships, 
And our spirits rush'd together at the touching of the lips. 

— Tennyson.. 




JAN 5 1905 



f 



